Can't Remember, Won't Ever Forget
by SammyJah
Summary: Story starts towards the end of 3x13 "Bring Out the Dead" when the Salvatore and Michaelson brothers are pretending to have a civilized meal to negotiate their truce. What happens when Stefan returns to Klaus with a new offer? What would Stefan do to keep Damon away from Elena? Can the heart remember what the mind is forced to forget? Delena but will take a while to get there.
1. Chapter 1

This story begins near the end of "Bring out the Dead" 3x13 when the Salvatore & Michaelson brothers are having their dinner and pretending to make civilised deals.

* * *

Damon was already over the dinner. Yeah sure he had organized it but that didn't stop him from hating it. Between Stefan's bitching about him kissing Elena (in his opinion still the best decision he has EVER made) and Klaus' usual bullshit he just wanted it to end! But of course, that would be too easy, instead he was stuck stalling a murderous hybrid with an unpleasant dinner because he'd been saddled with a pair of incompetent witches who can't get their shit together. Granted one of them could drop him in seconds and the other had once had enough juice to desiccate Mikael but that didn't appear to be helping them to open one bloody coffin.

And to add even more joy to his existence he was listening to Elijah tell the story of the original Petrova. Apparently, she started the whole deal of insinuating herself into the lives and beds of two brothers and fate just carried it along. Damon offered an imaginary middle finger to the universe for suckering him into its games, not once, but twice. He sighed at his own unwillingness to remove himself from Elena's tangled web and looked at his phone. His text box was lit up with a new message. Finally! It was about time he heard from Bonnie.

Text: Witchy

 _Plan B. So, huge surprise, my mother is an unreliable failure. We aren't getting this open. Too bad Grams is dead, isn't it?_

He inwardly groaned and rolled his eyes at the not so veiled dig at him for her grandmother's death. Damon was all for taking responsibility for things he did but he hated copping it for things he didn't. The way Elena told him the story was that Sheila double crossed him and planned to leave him in there. She only agreed to take the barrier down to get Broody out, it was Elena that wanted Damon out. Even with all the pain of finding that Katherine was never there he still remembers Elena that night, begging him to leave the tomb and holding his shattered world together afterwards. How could he not fall in love with her?

Elijah has noticed Damon's absent mind and uses their planned cue to pull him back. Damon hears something about a proposal and quickly shifts back into game mode, "Well its very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back. In exchange, he, and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan and Elena live happily ever after, No grudges." He almost laughs at this last part, Stefan constantly has a grudge with him for existing. And now for kissing Elena.

Elijah looks at Klaus and uses the prearranged response, "The deal sounds fair brother." Damon is not at all surprised by Klaus' expected response ranting about Elena's blood, hybrids, and other stuff he stopped listening to. Although he was a little taken aback by the intensity of the glares between the two younger brothers. He knew they were close after their feeding frenzies in the 20's and then again recently but the looks screamed of disappointment and betrayal; he began to wonder… just how close were they?

Klaus' continues his rant and interrupts Damon's train of thought for a moment, "Well say I do leave her here under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire?" Damon looks completely guilty; of course, that is his plan. He's spent so long trying to keep her alive, how could he ever just watch her die?

"Or worse how long before she dies, caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you truly believes that you are the one that can protect her and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is… the two of you." Damon starts internally fuming, he can't believe this is coming from the guy who wants to use her as a human blood bag until she becomes his brood mare and dies. He can barely control his temper and after offering a silent "Fuck you" to Klaus, he decides he has had enough. Damon initiates the final stage of the plan by standing and leaving the room, "I'm gonna go get some air."

Damon breathes a sigh of relief once Elijah followed him out. Everything from here on out relies on Elijah being as trustworthy as Elena believes him to be. He has to give her some credit as Elijah continues to prove himself to Damon. The unlikely companions head into the room where the coffins are and Damon holds up two fingers, indicating the unreliable witches have failed and Plan B needs to begin. Elijah raises his eyebrows at Damon who can only shrug in response. There isn't much point questioning what went wrong. At this point they just need to get on with it before it all crashes down around them. Elijah eventually holds up his two fingers in return indicating that everything is ready for Plan B once the daggers are removed.

Elijah gestures towards a coffin nearby and Damon opens the lid to find Rebekah inside it. He rolls his eyes and inwardly groans. With a one in three chance he got the one he'd rather kill than release. He understands that once she is let out she will go straight after Elena and there is little Damon can do to stop her. He hesitates and this catches Elijah's attention. He has already undaggered his brothers. Elijah moves to take over from Damon but he holds up his hand in a 'stop' motion. Damon knows he is responsible for the aftermath of tonight no matter who actually removes the dagger from her chest. He quickly yanks the metal from her corpse and hands it over to Elijah. He places it on a tray held by one of Klaus' slaves and gestures for them both to return to the table. There are now more slaves holding cards and moving into position beside each coffin. Elijah certainly seems to have planned his part thoroughly.

As they both return to their fighting younger brothers Damon engages Klaus, "What do you say Klaus? Time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter." Klaus looking smug and in control baits the brothers with his offer, "Okay. I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs now is to be rid of you lot." Damon feels the anger returning and tries to force it back down. He is still trying to control it when Klaus turns the knife further by suggesting Matt should be the one chosen to provide Elena's children. He can barely contain his outburst, "Matt Donovan? Really?" Everyone ignores him and then Klaus drives the final blow to Damon by asking, "What do you say? Stefan?" He knows it's not a real offer, or even a real option but he's just so pissed off that Stefan seems to be the only one who gets a say. His stomach drops with a dead weight as he watches his brother walk over to Klaus. "What are you doing?" He begins to panic as he sees Stefan takes Klaus' hand in his. He can't believe Stefan would stoop so low, making deals to hand Elena over to Klaus, just because Damon kissed her! Klaus grins. He thinks he has won until Stefan finally speaks, "Nice try Klaus. But no deal." Damon breathes for the first time in what feels like years. He thought his brother had finally lost it, but it seems he is in there somewhere and still cares about Elena. In response Klaus snaps Stefan's arm and holds it in the fire.

No matter how angry Damon has been with Stefan, he can't handle seeing him in so much pain. He tries to intervene but Elijah holds him against the wall. The rising panic at the spiralling situation causes Damon to think the worst of Elijah and he begins to argue until he sees the look on Elijah's face that no one else can see. He begins to calm and play his role yelling for Klaus to, "Stop!"

"Now bring me my coffin before I burn him alive." Damon slips into his cool, calm, don't give a fuck façade and sneers at Klaus, "I'll get it." He then shoves Elijah before leaving the room. Elijah follows at his brother's request and they find themselves faced with the rest of the Original siblings. Elijah puts his finger to his lips to keep their silence. Damon tries not to wonder at their healthy glow coupled with the absence of the slaves. He's not quite sure when Elena's influence actually made him consider things like this.

As the sound of the arguing in the other room increases Elijah gives the signal. He and Damon return to the room to Klaus' surprise. Upon hearing Elijah speak his siblings follow him into the room. First Kol, then Finn, and finally Rebekah. Klaus begins to cower as his family descend upon him. The Salvatores flee before anyone has a chance to turn the attention to them. In the peace of the forest Damon is hopeful this distraction gives them a window of relief. And at least now he feels he can trust Elijah enough to keep up his end of the deal once the coffin is handed over. Stefan's voice then breaks the silence, "Well you were right about Elijah, undaggering him was a smart move."

Damon can hardly believe it, "Wow. Actual acknowledgement of a job well done. Going soft Stefan."

"So, I guess I shouldn't thank you for saving me from Klaus?"

"Shut up. You don't get to thank me until I pay you back for all those times you've saved me."

The boys stop walking to address the situation, "You could've left me there. Klaus would've killed me and you could have had Elena all to yourself." Damon is shocked. How can his brother not understand? He would NEVER leave his brother. Besides Elena would never have forgiven him, he would have lost the two people he loves most in one go. Damon's phone lights up with an incoming call from Elena. Ordinarily he'd love her to be calling him but right now is possibly the worst timing ever. He rejects the call and turns to his brother, "I didn't do that on your account."

"I love her Damon."

Damon considers this for a moment before replying, "So do I." As he walks away he realises that he has never actually come right out and told his brother that before. It will be a few minutes more before he realises that his brother never followed him. He will continue his walk home assuming Stefan went to 'make up' with Elena. He couldn't be more wrong.

* * *

Watching Damon walk away after such a simple statement Stefan is left worried. He realises that his brother will never give up on Elena. Even if she never chooses him, he will always be there reminding her she has another option. He will always be there for her to run to when she wants to. He will always be her 'friend' and it did not matter what Stefan said about Damon and the evil he has done. He will always be a part of Elena's life. Perhaps Klaus was right. Or at least partially right. And Stefan has to wonder whether Klaus would be willing to make a different sort of deal. Maybe he will let Stefan stay with Elena if he hands her over. Damon could never get to her then. They would be surrounded by Originals. They would be safe and Damon could never even get close. Decision made, Stefan turns and heads back to see a hybrid about a new deal.

As he nears the mansion he hears the sounds of destruction. He hears Klaus being abandoned by his family. His family who will soon have the only thing Klaus fears, whatever is in that coffin. That must have been part of Damon's deal with Elijah. He must be handing over the coffin! Klaus will have nothing. No family. No freedom. And without Elena, no hybrids. Stefan pauses in the shadows to contemplate upping the ante on Klaus. As the Original siblings leave the mansion Elijah stops. "Stefan, I don't know why you have returned. We are leaving. We will soon have what Klaus fears most and he knows that if any harm comes to Elena we will unleash what is in that coffin. Damon has my number to give her. All she needs to do is call and Klaus will be put away where he cannot harm anyone."

Stefan remains still. He doesn't know how Elijah knows he is there but he will not give up that easily. The situation is worse than he thought. If he tries to hand Elena over and leave with them Damon will send Elijah after them. There is no protection. He needs a new plan. A plan that doesn't involve Damon having access to the Originals. "Oh, and Stefan… That deal does not include you. If you go back in there I will not guarantee your safety. I aided your brother in saving you once. My deal with him ended once you both left intact. If you go back in there now you are on your own."

Stefan waits until he can only hear the sounds of the forest. He enters the mansion slowly, the last thing he wants to do is startle the murderous hybrid who has just been abandoned. "Come to gloat Stefan?" Stefan turns to find a despondent Klaus slumped against a wall behind him.

"No. Actually I came to make you a deal."

"Ha. A deal. What deal could you possibly want to make now. I have no family now and they all want me to suffer so they are forbidding me Elena's blood. You won't give me Elena, and even if you did your brother only has to call them and they will descend upon me. So much for the will of an immortal hybrid. Maybe an army of compelled vampires will do until I can find a way around my idiot siblings."

"What if I could give you Elena?"

Klaus stops and looks stunned, "Have you not listened to a word I've said? One phone call and they will unleash what is in that coffin!" He pauses before continuing, "Besides you have no wish to give me the girl. What game are you trying to play?"

"It's no game Klaus. Just hear me out." He remains still waiting for a sign from Klaus to continue.

"Sure. Why not. I have nothing better to do with my time tonight anyway."

"Right. So, you need Elena's blood to create more hybrids."

"Stefan, I said I would hear you out but if you plan on boring me with pointlessly obvious statements then go away before I decide to kill you instead."

Stefan took a breath, composed himself and continued, "Just bear with me. You can't take Elena's blood because then she or Damon would call your siblings and you'd be on the run again. But what if Elena gave you her blood… voluntarily?"

"She wouldn't but please do go on."

"The way I see it, the main problem here is Damon. Any decision we make he would find a way to stop us. And he has a direct line to Elijah. We remove Damon from the picture and a whole world of possibilities open up." Stefan waits while this sinks in. He is impatient to continue but he knows rushing Klaus would be playing his hand too early right now.

"Now Stefan… I know you and your brother have had your differences, what with both falling in love with the same girl… twice. But you can't expect me to believe you want to kill your brother?"

"Not kill. No. That would raise too many questions. Just send him away. Compel him to leave and stay away."

"Fine. But what is to stop him going directly to my siblings? Or getting word to Elena? Your brother has an annoying habit of finding the fine print in a compulsion." This was Stefan's big play, he tried not to seem excited, tried to play it cool like his brother would but Klaus could see right through him. "Come on now Stefan, spit it out. I haven't got an eternity." A sly smile appears on Klaus' face at his own joke.

"We compel him to forget."

Klaus looks thoughtful. For the first time since his family betrayed him he could see a tiny speck of light, "I can see the merit in your plan. Obviously, we need to be careful with the specifics but I can see how it could work. You are however forgetting one thing."

"What is that?"

"Elena. She would never allow you to send your brother away. And she would never believe he would abandon her. She knows full well how ensnared your poor brother is and would do everything in her power to bring him back."

"Which is why we make her forget too. She must forget she ever met Damon."

"No, no, no Stefan. That kind of meddling is tedious and has a habit of coming undone. Do you realise how much reprogramming is involved in removing the memory of one person? From two years of her life? We'd have to replace him in every memory she has! Do you even know what they all are Stefan? And if we were to miss one the memories could come back! No, it won't work."

Stefan can feel everything slipping away. He had thought of this plan so quickly he never really had the time to work out logistics. He just wanted Damon away from Elena. "Okay. I've got it. What if we just blank out everything since she met Damon?"

"Now you are getting ridiculous Stefan! How could you even explain this?"

"Think about it. Humans have accidents, right? And they get amnesia. What if she had an 'accident' and was missing her memory? That would solve the issue of just removing Damon, right?"

"Yes. Sure. But you still haven't explained one thing." Klaus pauses and looks at Stefan, the intensity making Stefan feel like he is about to go in the fire again, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you do all this? Betray your brother? Offer up your girl?"

"Well it's not the end of my deal Klaus. I want to be there, with her. If we do this I get the chance to start over with her. Before she met Damon, she loved me and only me. She didn't even know what I was back then. I get the chance to do it right. And if the price of that is an occasional donation of blood well so be it."

"So why not just compel her yourself? Why even bother with me? You could easily tell her to forget all by yourself."

"Elena, yes. Damon, no. And he would notice immediately. We need to do them both at the same time."

"I do quite like your idea Stefan. The sibling betrayal is fantastic by itself. However, what is to stop me from doing all this to them AND you and just taking what I want anyway?"

"Your siblings Klaus. You told me yourself they won't hesitate to unleash that coffin on you at any hint of harm to Elena. I'm the one they trust. Keeping me onside will sell the story Klaus. And think about it, who will all of Elena's friends trust when she gets amnesia? Me! They all know I'm better for her than Damon. They'll be glad to see him go and won't ask questions. But if something happened to all three of us they'd immediately blame you." Stefan looked smugly to Klaus as if he really were the hero he pretended to be.

"Fair enough Stefan. I'm almost sold on your little idea. But one last problem… offspring. I can't see you knocking up your little girlfriend anytime soon and even if you don't turn her like your brother surely would, she will eventually die leaving me without a supply of doppelgänger blood. How do you suppose I fix that? Neither of you seems particularly keen on my Matt idea."

"I'll convince her to have a family with me." Stefan begins to sound desperate again, if he can't convince Klaus that this will work he will lose her forever, "To have a donor so they can still be hers. She'll have no idea about Petrovas or doppelgängers so I'm sure she'll love the idea."

"And then?"

"And then, after a few years she can turn if she wants. We'll have you stocked up with a supply of blood to last until the next one arrives." Klaus is looking doubtfully at Stefan. He wants to believe but can't help thinking this is a lot for Stefan to pull off, even with his help. Stefan scrambles for one last effort in convincing Klaus, "and I haven't even told you what I bring to the table."

"What might that be Stefan?"

"Me. You will be giving me the future I've always wanted with Elena. It is only fair that I return the favour and provide you with my companionship."

"I will not be your charity case Stefan! Do you think I need you to survive? I will always survive! I'm the hybrid, I can't be killed!"

Stefan, realising his mistake attempts to placate the raging hybrid, "No! That's not what I meant at all. I was thinking we could go back to being brothers again. Like it once was. You and me against the world Klaus. Our own families have forsaken us, let's make our own."

Klaus is silent and still. The silence drags on and Stefan begins to panic. Maybe he pushed Klaus too far, maybe it felt like one more betrayal on a night of betrayals. As Stefan looks up he sees Klaus walk across the room still silent. He could never get a good read on his friend when he got like this, and he could kill so quickly if he thought he was being played. Stefan could see Klaus pouring from a decanter and as he turned back to face Stefan he was smiling. He held out a glass to Stefan, "Let's drink shall we?"

"To brothers?"

"Yes. To brothers of our own choosing."


	2. Chapter 2

To answer some questions, yes this is absolutely a Delena story, however, with what Stefan and Klaus are up to it will take some time to get there. Having said that, this chapter definitely has some Delena interaction.

* * *

Chapter 2

Damon enters the boarding house and heads straight to the bar. He pours himself a drink and drinks it straight down, after tonight's events he needed it. He pours another drink before he realises that he still doesn't know what Elena wanted and considering her status as a danger magnet, it could be important.

He hits her contact information and frowns when it goes to voicemail. He tries again. Same outcome. He is now worried. Trying not to overreact he calls Ric. No answer there either. He doesn't want to run into Stefan over there but he won't be able to rest until he knows his humans are safe. He considers going over at vamp speed but he knows that he may need the car if something has happened to them so he drives to the Gilbert house as quickly as he can. He is not prepared for what he finds when he arrives.

Damon had expected to find his brother, or at least evidence that his brother had been here, but he must have gone elsewhere once they left Klaus' mansion, perhaps hunting. What he did not expect to find was Ric dead, Elena covered in blood and Matt being useless. Okay so maybe that last part was normal. He moves Ric's body to the lounge and then tried to find out what was going on.

"What the hell happened here?"

"Elena killed Mr Saltzman." Damon looks at Elena. She turns and walks into the kitchen.

"Go home Matt. I'll deal with this."

"You? You are the reason all this shit keeps happening! Why should I go home and leave you alone with them?"

Damon sighs, "Just go home."

"No! You can't compel me, I'm staying."

"No, I can't compel you but I could…" Elena returns from the kitchen.

"Damon! Stop. Matt go home. You need some rest. Caroline will need all of us tomorrow." Elena glares at Damon and guides Matt to the door.

"How can you want me to leave you with him? After everything?" Matt looks at Elena like she is completely crazy.

"I will be fine Matt. I'll be safe with him." She glances back at Damon with a small smile on her face.

Matt glares at Damon who waves at him from behind Elena's back. "Safe?" He shakes his head and leaves.

Damon tries again, "So… you wanna tell me what happened here?"

"Someone attacked Ric." Elena looks exhausted.

"Matt said that you did, what am I missing here?" Damon moves towards her and tilts her head up so he can see her eyes.

"He, he was dying and he needed me to kill him, I'm supernatural and there was so much blood and I didn't know what else to do and…"

Damon interrupts her panicked ramblings, "Hey, it's okay." He pulls her with him into the kitchen and begins to clean her. "Let's get you cleaned up alright." Damon keeps cleaning her hands and she begins to silently cry. He stops cleaning and pulls her into his arms. "It's okay, Ric will be fine. He will wake up soon and it will all be okay." Elena lets go and sobs into Damon's chest. He continues to hold and soothe her while pressing his lips to her head and giving her little kisses between words of comfort.

"You two better not be making out in there while I'm out here dead!"

"Ric!" Elena flies from Damon's arms and into Ric's so quickly he'd almost think she was a vampire. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I will be." His voice betrays his words. He groans and attempts to sit up. Elena helps him and he smiles gratefully at her.

Damon wanders in to the lounge room and asks, "Any idea who did this?"

"Not a clue. I didn't see anyone." He pauses and groans, "As much as I'd like to find out who the hell tried to kill me, I really feel like shit. I'm going to grab a shower and get some sleep."

To the chorus of good nights, Ric climbs the stairs, heading for the shower.

Damon looks at Elena, "I think that's probably a good idea for you too."

"Yeah. Once again, I need to wash someone's blood from my hands. I can't keep doing this Damon." She falls against him and starts to softly cry again. Damon picks her up and carries her into her bedroom. He stands her at the bathroom door then collects the clothes he often sees her wear to bed. He places them in the bathroom and guides Elena to the shower.

"Damon, what are you doing?" Her tears have stopped and her breathing is calming again.

"Helping. Obviously. I'm very helpful, haven't you noticed?" He gives her a look of mock horror.

A small smile appears on Elena's face, "I think I can manage from here."

"I'm sure you can, not as much fun though." He smirks and she smiles.

"Damon! Get out!" He is pleased she seems more herself again.

"Yeah yeah. I'll be right outside." Damon leaves the bathroom and sits on the end of her bed. This is not at all how he saw the rest of the night going. He can't think of anyone who'd really want to hurt Ric and Elena has already been through far too much lately. Having to kill Ric just to make sure he would come back must have been horrible for her. It's one of the things he loves about her; she tries so hard not to hurt anyone, but would always do what is needed for those she loves. Occasionally Damon allows himself the delusion of thinking he might just be on that list, but for now he is happy just to be there for her when she needs him, like she is there for everyone else.

Lost in thought he doesn't hear the shower turn off and so he is surprised when Elena opens the door and returns to her room. "You're still here."

"I said I would be." She sits beside him on the bed, "Look Elena, someone tried to kill Ric tonight, someone who can get into this house, I'm not leaving the two of you alone. I'll spend the night outside and make sure no one comes in."

"No, Damon…"

"Dammit Elena, if you don't care enough about yourself to let me be here at least think about Ric!" He is exasperated by her repeated attempts to prove that she doesn't need his help.

"Actually Damon," she looks at the floor and whispers, "I was going to ask you to stay in here." She looks up at him with a shy smile that completely derails anything he was about to say.

"Oh. Right." He gets up off the bed so she can get under the covers. "In that case I apologize for yelling at you."

"So, you should," she smirks at him.

"Don't go getting all cocky on me now," he tucks her into her covers, "I'm just going to go and check on Ric, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Damon can hear that Ric is asleep but he needs a moment to himself. He knows how angry Stefan will be if he finds out that he stayed here the night but he can't deny her request. She NEEDS him. And he needs to look out for his drinking buddy. Damon cleans up the rest of the blood before heading back to Elena's room. He expected to find her asleep but instead she is sitting up in bed seemingly waiting for him. She must be more concerned than she is letting on. "I'm here now, I just wanted to clean up a little so you didn't have to do it in the morning." He walked over to her window seat and put his legs up with his back against the wall, settled in for the long night ahead.

"What are you doing?" She seems confused which only infuriates him. This was her idea!

"You said you wanted me to stay in here, if you are going to keep changing your mind could you at least tell me?"

Elena gives a small laugh at his reaction, "No. I said I wanted you to stay in here." She pointed to her bed. Damon froze.

"Ummm, I'm not sure…"

"Don't make me beg Damon. I just don't want to be alone right now." She no longer looks like the carefree Elena of a few moments ago, she once again looks like the girl who has had enough and is about to lose it. Damon nods and gets up. He removes his shoes and jacket, throwing them on the window seat. That's when he realizes he still has blood on him from earlier. He begins to unbutton his shirt.

"Ummm, Damon… What are you doing?" Elena is blushing, this is not what she had expected.

"Elena, put your dirty little mind away. My shirt is covered in Ric's blood that I'd rather not get all on your bed." Damon removes his shirt and walks to her bed. Elena lifts the covers to let him in. She'd let him lay ON her bed before while she slept, but never IN it. "Are you sure?"

"I'm tired. Just get in and lay down." She looks more than tired, anyone would think she hadn't slept in days.

Damon doesn't have the willpower to fight her anymore and does as she asks. Elena immediately tucks herself into his side and he wraps her in his arms. Everywhere her skin touches his sets fire to his nerves. This is absolute heaven and hell all at the same time. In moments, she is asleep. He can hear her heart slow and he finally relaxes. He rolls slightly towards her so he can watch her sleep. He immediately realizes what a bad idea that was. They are laying too close and his entire body reacts. He can feel his body urging him on and his demon is eager to play. His fangs join the other parts of his body trying to escape from their confines. In her sleep Elena reacts to the proximity of his arousal and brushes her hand across his stomach. Damon's body ignites and he is at breaking point, he immediately captures her hand in his and returns to his previous position on his back. He entwines their fingers, hoping to keep both hands in place. After regaining control of his breathing and his inner demon Damon places a gentle kiss on the top of her head and falls asleep.

* * *

After leaving Klaus, Stefan walks to Elena's to see her. His hope is that maybe she is awake and will talk to him and if not, at least he can watch her sleep for a while. When he arrives at Elena's he is less surprised than he expected to be seeing that Damon had beaten him to it. He considers just walking away, knowing he will win as soon as the plan is put into place. Then he sees that all the lights are out in the house. The only reason for Damon's car to be here after lights out is if he was sleeping here! That is not something Stefan can tolerate.

Stefan jumps up to Elena's room and his worst fears are confirmed. Damon is in Elena's bed, she is wrapped around him and he is naked! Stefan flies in the window and before Damon can react Stefan snaps his neck. He stands there over his brother's still body fuming, fangs bared and blood pumping. He throws Damon's body over his shoulder, grabs his cell phone from the bedside table and jumps back out the window. He runs home, daring his brother to wake up so he can snap his neck again. Once home he flings Damon's body into the cell and slams the door. It is only when he is locking the door that he notices Damon's fully clothed lower body. The rage is slowly beginning to subside but he is still furious with his brother. Clothed or not, he was in Elena's bed!

Stefan then heads upstairs to get some sleep himself before dealing with all of this in the morning.

* * *

Damon wakes up and immediately realises where he is, it's not like it was the first time he'd woken up here. Damon thinks about his predicament and has no idea how he is going to convince his brother to let him out. Obviously, he had come by while Damon was sleeping in Elena's bed and gotten the wrong idea, but Damon knew that was going to be irrelevant to Stefan. That didn't stop him trying anyway though, "Stefan! Come on! Let me the hell out of here!"

Silence meets Damon's ears. He hates how much sound dissipates once it reaches down here. He strains to hear anything and could swear he can just hear a heartbeat. If he is right then his brother is home, just ignoring him. "Stefan seriously! Ric was attacked last night, I need to get back over there. They could both be in danger!" Still nothing.

Stefan is laying on his bed listening to Damon hollering at him. He figures his brother would say just about anything for Stefan to let him out. As if anyone was in any danger! If they were Damon would have been hunting the danger down instead of sleeping cuddled up with Elena.

"Nothing happened you know!" More bullshit from Damon, yeah sure he knew now that Damon had pants on but still he was shirtless in Elena's bed. No way would Stefan believe 'nothing' had happened. He vamps to the cell and stands outside the door.

"If that's the case why were you shirtless in MY girlfriend's bed? And why was she wrapped around you, huh?"

Damon stood up before answering, "One. She isn't YOUR girlfriend. You broke up remember. Two MY shirt was covered in Ric's blood. And three, she just couldn't resist this," Damon pointed to his still bare chest, "I mean, who can?" Damon smirked at his brother clearly forgetting his goal of getting out of the cell.

"And that is why YOU are staying in THERE." Stefan turned away from Damon seething and took a blood bag from the stash in the basement.

"You've finally lost is this time, haven't you? You can't keep me locked in here forever you know. She will come looking for me."

"I'm counting on it." Stefan walked back upstairs.

"What the hell does that mean Stefan? What are you going to do to Elena? Stefan! LET! ME! OUT! OF! HERE!" As Stefan left the boarding house the sun was just beginning to rise in the distance. He could hear Damon's attempts to break out of the cell, it sounded a lot like his brother was throwing his body at the door, but those sounds faded as he strolled through the forest and eventually he couldn't hear Damon at all.

* * *

Elena gradually woke from the warm feeling of the sun on her skin. As she became more conscious she felt like there was something missing. It took her a few moments to wake enough to realize Damon was gone. She wasn't surprised and yet she had hoped he would still be beside her in the morning. She lays in the bed breathing in the smell that is purely Damon. It makes her feel safe and loved. She reaches for her phone and sees Damon's jacket, shirt and shoes he removed the night before. Maybe he hadn't left after all but was checking on Ric or downstairs making sure everything was clean? She can't hear anything so she sits up and checks her phone. She sees a text from Damon.

Text: Sexy as hell

 _Sorry I left. I heard Ric getting up and figured he didn't need to find me there._

Elena rolled her eyes at the contact name. Over the summer she had changed his contact back to 'Damon' so many times that eventually she just gave up. That didn't stop him randomly changing it to something else when he felt like it. She frowned at the message. Ric knew Damon was staying last night, why would he have needed to leave?

* * *

Stefan is walking through the forest on his way to Klaus' when he hears the alert on Damon's phone.

Text: Elena

 _That makes no sense Damon, Ric knew you were here. Why did you REALLY leave me this morning?_

The reply makes him furious and gives him pause. How could he have known that Ric was okay with those two spending nights together? And if he WAS okay with it, how many times had it happened before? More to the point how was he going to respond to make sure Elena was willing to come to the boarding house this afternoon?

* * *

Elena dismissed Damon's weird behaviour as him simply being Damon and continued getting ready for the day. She collected up Damon's belongings and placed them all together neatly on her window seat to return to him later. She took his bloodied shirt downstairs to put it in the machine. On her way downstairs she ran into Ric, "Is Damon still up in your room?" He had THAT look on his face as he asked, she could see why he and Damon were friends.

"No. He… snuck out." She frowned as she said it. She thought they were past all that by now. Usually if he slept over he'd be making breakfast or carrying on with Ric until she got up. It just seemed weird.

"Really?" Ric looked at her quizzically, he was surprised too. "Damn. I thought I'd at least get a decent breakfast this morning. Dying seems to make me hungry."

"Funny," She rolls her eyes, "Well you aren't getting breakfast out of me, I'm grabbing a coffee and heading out to check on Caroline." She walks into the laundry to wash Damon's shirt.

She hears Ric call out from the kitchen, "Have you been able to get a hold of Bonnie? Does she know about Caroline?" Elena stops and groans. Add that to the list for the day.

"No, I didn't. Guess I'll do that BEFORE I go to see Caroline. Just one more job for the…hang on I've got a reply from Damon."

Text: Sexy as hell

 _Honestly I was hungry and didn't want to wake you or Ric up. And I didn't want to still be in your bed if your boyfriend showed up. I don't think he'd approve._

Now Elena was concerned. It didn't even sound like Damon. What had gotten into him this morning?

"So, does it explain his rapid exit this morning?" Ric came up alongside Elena.

"No." She held her phone out to Ric, "You tell me what you think." Elena finished putting Damon's shirt in to wash and headed back to the kitchen to get a coffee.

"So, I see he is still playing with your contact list," Ric smirked as he followed her back to the kitchen and Elena laughed.

"Yes, but that isn't exactly weird. Read the text." She frowned and picked up her coffee, after last night she needed something to get her going.

Ric walked to the fridge, and pulled out a full drawer of blood bags, "Yep, something is definitely going on." He held the bags up for her to see, "He is still fully stocked," he looked closer at the bags, "And these are only new, he knows they are in here."

Elena sighed, "I already have my hands full this morning, can you get hold of him and see what is going on please?" She paused at the door when she saw Damon's keys and then opened it to see his car, "He didn't even take his car…"

"Yeah I'll follow it up. Give me his keys and I'll get them back to him." Ric held out his hand.

Elena handed Ric the keys and began heading out the door, "Oh, his jacket and shoes are in my room, can you get those back to him too please?" Ric looked at Elena with his eyebrows raised, "Oh shut up Ric. Bye."

* * *

Stefan walks into Klaus' mansion and begins wandering the place looking for him. He hears a noise behind him and turns to find Klaus looking annoyed.

"Good morning Stefan, thank you so much for calling before you came by." He takes a step towards Stefan who takes one back.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We have a problem."

"How could WE possibly have a problem? We haven't done anything yet?"

"I have Damon locked in the basement, but I'm not sure how long it will hold him. He is currently trying to bash his way out." Stefan looks down at his feet waiting for Klaus' response.

"When you left here last night we agreed to plan this carefully. How did that mean lock up your brother and clue him into what we are planning? You do realise the consequences of us fucking this up don't you Stefan?" Stefan tries not to shrink from Klaus' rage.

"Yes. I understand." Stefan straightens up as Klaus steps back and he tries to regain some composure, "I was fine with our plan until I got to Elena's last night."

"And what was so traumatic that you had to put all our planning out the window?" Klaus raises his eyebrows in question.

"Them." Stefan responded so quietly even Klaus could barely hear him.

"Speak up Stefan. What do you mean, them? Ohhhh… I get it." Klaus smirks and his whole mood shifts. "So, you found your brother in bed with your girl and had yourself a tantrum, did you? Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to vervain him?" Klaus looks to Stefan who is torn between feeling relieved Klaus is no longer angry and feeling enraged that his situation is providing so much amusement.

"No. Of course not. I snapped his neck. That's why he is tearing the place apart right now. He wants to get back to Elena."

"Alright. Let's go and compel your brother then." Klaus slaps Stefan on the back and heads out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to those who are reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sending pms. Your interest in my story and willingness to contribute is very much appreciated. Enjoy chapter 3.

* * *

Klaus looked through the bars of the cell and saw a pile of bloodied flesh that he supposed could possibly be Damon, "A little bit excessive don't you think Stefan?" He turned and looked at his old ripper friend.

"Huh? Oh that? That wasn't me. I told you he was trying to force his way out." Stefan shrugged and looked away from the cell holding his brother.

"Damon…Damon… Time to wake up now…" The pile on the floor didn't move. "Stefan. Get in there and pick your brother up. I can't very well compel him if he isn't conscious…" Klaus sighed in annoyance.

Stefan warily unlocked the door and stepped into the cell. He shuffled towards his brother and lifted him up around his blood-soaked torso. The blood weakened Stefan's grip and Damon's body started to slide down. Stefan looked up at Klaus for help and in that moment, everything changed. The body in his arms came alive and twisted, its arms grasping his head and snapping hard. The body then spun towards the door only to find its momentum stopped by a strong grip around the throat.

Klaus looked directly into Damon's eyes and told him to "Stop struggling," Damon paused briefly before grasping at the hand holding his throat. "Okay. I can see you still have some vervain left in your system, but not much. And the good news is that you've been bleeding yourself so I don't need to do it." Damon ignored Klaus and continued trying to remove the hand from around his throat. "Damon, honestly this is getting boring. You are I both know you'll never be stronger than me so just stop trying. If you stop trying to pry my hand from your throat I'll loosen my grip enough for you to breathe and speak." Damon loosens his hands from around Klaus' wrist and in turn Klaus allowed Damon a slight gap between throat and hand. "Now let's see if we can be civilized, here shall we?"

"I'm not the one locking someone in a cell and holding him by the throat." Damon snarled at Klaus.

"No. But you did snap your brother's neck, not that it should hinder my plans in anyway. Why did you do that by the way?"

Damon looked down at his brother's body and smiled, "Only seemed fair after his treatment of me last night."

Klaus smiled in return, "Yes, well I can understand that, although the way I hear it you were found in a compromised position in bed with his girlfriend."

"Ah yes, HIS 'girlfriend'," Damon held his hands up in air quotes, "did he also mention that he broke up with her? Or that when she was still willing to fight for him he threatened to drive her off the bridge where her parents died? Or that she was so terrified of being left alone last night that she asked me to stay? Or how about that fact that when he snapped MY neck and dragged me out of her bed I was ASLEEP, wearing the clothes I'm currently still fucking wearing!"

Klaus looked at Damon, both amused and impressed by his outburst considering the position he was in, "I'll grant you, your brother seems to have exaggerated a few things, nevertheless there is no way on this earth you would agree to the same deal he has so I'm afraid I'm still going to side with him."

Damon looked concerned by Klaus' words, "What deal?" He only gets a smile in return. "What deal Klaus?"

Klaus looked into Damon's eyes again, "Stop talking Damon."

Damon was furious, "What fucking deal Klaus?"

Klaus sighed and carried Damon by the throat over to the blood stash. He handed Damon a bag, "Drink."

"No." Damon was determined not to be compelled, he knew that nothing good could come from it.

"Let me make this simple for you Damon. I'm going to compel you either way. I can either keep your neck snapped until the remnants of vervain leave your system or you can drink this and help dilute it and I will tell you what is going on. It's not like you'll remember anyway." Klaus smirked and placed the blood bag into Damon's hand.

Damon sighed and took the bag from Klaus. Klaus removed his hand from Damon's throat and instead blocked the doorway. He drank slowly from the bag and he could gradually feel his body repair from the damage he'd caused attempting to force his way out. "Okay. Spill."

Klaus raised his eyebrows at Damon, "I agreed to tell you what is happening out of boredom Damon, I could easily entertain myself other ways if you get cocky."

Damon glared at Klaus, "I drink, you talk. That was the deal. Or are you as good at keeping your end as my brother?"

"Yes. Speaking of your brother, it sounds like he is beginning to return to us. Stefan? Are you alive yet?" Klaus turned towards Stefan's body and noted that it had started to twitch. "Looks like we only have a few moments before he is back. Let's try this again," He looked directly into Damon's eyes again, "You may not speak unless told to."

Damon stood still, drinking his blood bag. Stefan slowly got to his feet and launched himself at Damon. Klaus stepped between the brothers and held them both by the throat, "Now Stefan, you know you deserved that. I'd rather you go call Elena and get this started than spend more time dead on the floor, wouldn't you?" Stefan shrugged and headed upstairs without another word. "As for you, tell me what you think is going on here?" Damon refused to speak and Klaus laughed, "See this is what I told your brother, you will always find a loophole in any compulsion. This makes you dangerous to our plan, although entertaining in the scheme of things." He engaged Damon's eyes again, "You must not speak unless I say you can, you must also answer me when I ask you a question." Damon blinked and held out his empty blood bag to Klaus. "Why are you handing me a blood bag?" Klaus sounds exasperated with the whole situation.

Damon smirked smugly at Klaus, "I'm still thirsty and you compelled me not to speak unless you asked me a question. When you think about it, it's really your own damn…"

"Yes okay. You can stop talking now." The silence in the cell allows them to hear Stefan asking Elena to come over as Damon is acting strange.

Damon couldn't handle being quiet any longer while she is led into a trap even if it would alert Klaus that he wasn't compelled. He yelled out, "Elena, don't come here!" And then he wasn't aware of anything as Klaus had snapped his neck again.

* * *

"Stefan, was that Damon I could hear in the background?" Elena was concerned. She could hear yelling but had no idea what could have put Damon in this strange mood.

"Yeah, like I said he's acting strange and won't talk to me. I'm worried he might do something 'Damon' if we don't sort him out now." Elena thought Stefan sounded like a concerned brother, she hadn't heard THAT Stefan in so long. She was willing to help both brothers in hopes that things could calm down a little.

"Sure. I'll be right over." Elena left Bonnie to stay with Caroline and headed straight for the boarding house.

* * *

When Elena arrived at the boarding house it was quiet. She walked into the living room looking for Stefan or Damon and found neither. She turned towards the kitchen and almost fell over when she ran into Klaus.

"Look who finally showed up." Klaus looked rather bored again.

Elena finally found her voice and tried to sound more confident than she was in the face of the man who killed her and Jenna, "Where is Damon?" A loud crash from upstairs startled her while Klaus merely laughed.

"He is on a time out right now for pretending to be compelled. Stefan is packing a nice road trip bag for Damon with all the necessities." Klaus sat down and indicated that Elena should join him.

She continued to stand, "What do mean 'compelled'? Why are you compelling Damon? Are you compelling Stefan again too? Is that why he's doing your bidding?" Elena's hands rested on her hips, clearly showing her thoughts on the subject.

"My dear girl, no. In fact, as unpleasant as that sounds, I am doing Stefan's 'bidding' in this case." Klaus smiled smugly at Elena while he watched recognition dawn on her face.

"Damon didn't sneak out, did he?"

"Not unless he managed to do it with a broken neck. Speaking of, it appears he is recovering from his most recent bout with that particular injury." Klaus stood to make his way downstairs again. Elena followed.

"You snapped his neck?" Elena peered into the cell.

"Yes. And then I bled him dry again. And then snapped his neck again, just to be sure. Although to be fair it was Stefan who snapped his neck last night and he did receive one in return from Damon this morning." Klaus unlocked the door and pinned a quickly moving Damon to the wall, "Why do you always think you can beat me, Damon?"

"Gotta be right one day, don't I?" He smirked at Klaus and then groaned when he saw Elena standing behind him, "Argh, I told you not to come."

"And that was when I snapped his neck." He looked at Elena, "Looks like I'll need to find another way to check he can be compelled…. but first," still holding Damon to the wall he grabbed Elena and held her next to Damon. He looked intently into Damon's eyes and demanded, "Don't move." Damon froze in place. Klaus then let go of Damon and ripped Elena's necklace off before giving her the same instruction. Elena was torn between feeling furious at the compulsion and feeling terrified at where it would end up. "Time for a test on each of you I think. Damon, do you love Elena?"

"Of course. You needed compulsion to figure that out? Talk about slow!" Elena saw Damon's head snap to the side as Klaus backhanded him across the face.

"Damon, are you okay?" She looked at him in concern, angry she couldn't move.

"I'm fine Elena, vampire remember?" he smiled at her to show that he was in fact fine.

"Right new rule, no talking to each other, understood?" Klaus was fuming at being ignored and felt like he was impossibly losing control of the situation.

"Understood." Elena played it safe.

"Yes, oh Stefan's bitch." Damon did not play it safe. And received another blow to the head for his troubles.

"Keep that up and I'll reduce you to one word answers Damon." Klaus glared at the insubordinate vampire.

"Oh, that's too bad cos I've actually got two words for you."

"Sounds fair Damon. You are now only allowed to answer me in two word phrases." Klaus finally felt back in control. "Now Elena, do you love Damon?" Her mind was screaming 'I don't know' but her betraying mouth immediately answered, "Yes."

Damon didn't know whether he should be rejoicing that he finally made it on to her list or disappointed that he didn't know what she meant by 'yes'.

More smashing sounds came from above and Klaus laughed. "Stefan, if you are going to listen in, why not come down and join us." Stefan entered the small cell glaring at the two compelled prisoners. Damon grinned at his brother, after the last twelve hours he no longer felt remorse about anything he may have done with Elena. She however looked down at the ground, unable to meet Stefan's eyes. "Damon, is there any situation where you would be willing to help me get regular 'donations' of blood from Elena along with ensuring the continuance of her blood line if I allowed you to be the one to stay with her?"

Damon struggled to find an answer of only two words to convey his disgust at the idea of treating Elena like a commodity. Is that what Stefan's plan was? To keep her prisoner and take her blood? Forcing her to have children? His brain was starting to hurt from not answering the question while compelled. Two words, two words, "Elena wants." The pressure within his brain subsided and he felt freer again.

"I presume you mean that it would be only if that is what Elena wants? Nod if that's what you meant." Klaus was only now realising the problem with limiting Damon's smart ass replies. Damon nodded. "Elena, would you ever want to live that way? Donating blood and having a human family?" he turned to Elena.

"No. Not like that. Knowing what you would use the blood for, I could never agree to that." She smiled at Damon, his answer, under compulsion, proving everything he ever said about keeping her safe and happy.

"And that my dear is why I must do this…Damon, from the time you leave this room you will have 30 minutes. In that time, you must clean yourself of this blood and get dressed. You will take this bag Stefan has packed you and you will leave Mystic falls. Where is your car?"

"At Elena's" At least the two word restriction was easy this time.

"You will walk to Elena's, human speed and retrieve your car and any belongings you may need from Elena's house. Once you get in your car you will not stop driving until you leave Mystic Falls. Until you pass the border your two-word limit remains in place and you may only speak to those you love. I'm not completely heartless, you may say your goodbyes with those two words, and only two words, without mentioning what happened here today or the names of any person, supernatural or not, that you know." Klaus stopped and Damon breathed a sigh of relief. Klaus didn't say he couldn't come back. He would find a way somehow. Klaus looked at Damon and smiled before continuing, "Once you cross the border you will forget everything that happened here today."

Elena drew in a sharp intake of breath before crying out, "No! Don't do that to him please!"

Klaus ignored Elena's outburst and continued, "You will also forget that you ever returned to Mystic Falls in this century. You had no need, you discovered that Katherine was not in the tomb and you have been searching for her. You have a lead telling you she is hiding out on the west coast and you will head there in search of her. What you do when you find her is entirely up to you." Damon's brain felt tight but he kept thinking trying to figure out who he could contact with his two words and what exactly he could say.

Elena was now sobbing, "This isn't fair, he didn't DO anything, please don't punish him, punish me instead, please let him go."

"Oh, I fully intend to love. Damon when I allow you to move you may not harm anyone in this room, you may also not kill anyone on your road trip. I don't need you leaving breadcrumbs for anyone to follow. Damon, you may now move."

Damon immediately faced Elena and gestured for Klaus to release her. Klaus sighed, "Elena, you may move but not leave this room. You are still not allowed to speak to Damon and he is only allowed his two words to you. I will give you one minute, and go!"

Damon directed his gaze into Elena's eyes and compelled her whispering, "Remember, everything". She lurched forward into his arms as flashes of memory filed into her brain, a man on a road, a sweet conversation, a necklace returned, a confession made.

Having her memories returned overwhelmed her and her sobbing increased. Damon held her for a moment before remembering their one minute. He held her face, kissed her sweetly and let go. His eyes were misting and he wanted so much to hold it together for her but he couldn't believe everything he loved was being ripped away from him. Elena grabbed at him feeling his smooth hard back beneath her fingers and kissed him aggressively wanting to put as much feeling as she could into what could be their last kiss. He responded in kind, probing with his tongue and tasting what he had only dreamed about. He held her against the wall and imagined what life would be like being able to kiss her every day. He heard Klaus return and as the best kiss he'd ever experienced ended he placed her hand on his heart before brushing his lips on her forehead.

"Time's up Damon. Leave."

Elena's cries almost drowned out the last word but unfortunately for the dark-haired vampire, he heard it clearly. He kissed her one last time, holding on for as long as he could, touching her face with his hands, memorising the feel of her lips on his before the pressure in his brain threatened to render him unconscious. As he stepped into the corridor it released again and then he saw his brother. As he raised his hands in rage the compulsion overrode his desires and dropped his arms back to his sides. He wondered if he could speak to his brother. Surely deep down, deep, deep down under all the rage he still loved his brother so he asked one simple question, "Why, brother?"

"Because she is mine." Stefan looked so smug Damon just wanted to rip his arms off and beat him with them, so instead he turned back to the woman he loved more than anything in the world to find her standing at the door, he stole one last sweet kiss, before heading upstairs to prepare to leave.

Klaus turned to Elena, "Now it's your turn."

"If you are compelling me, why can't you let him go, please Klaus!" she continued sobbing as she collapsed to the floor under the weight of everything that had happened.

He bent over and raised her back up, "Okay love, up you get. You are going to be just fine. You are allowed to leave the room now, in fact we are going to head to the living room." He took her arm and guided her to the sofa. He faced her and drew her into his gaze, "You are now free from all my previous compulsion. When I tell you to, you will fall asleep and you won't wake up until you feel the sun on your skin again. When you wake up you will have forgotten everything that has happened in your life from the moment you met Damon."

"No. Klaus, please no. I'll do whatever you want, just please don't take him away. You are already sending him away, please don't steal my memories too!" She clutched at Klaus' hands begging him to change his mind.

"But I have to love, that's the deal I made with Stefan. It's the only way you'll comply with what I need. You already told me that under compulsion. Now sleep." Elena falls into a deep slumber on the sofa and that is where Damon finds her. He sits down beside her, brushing her hair away from her face in a familiar gesture. He can feel the pressure slowly beginning to build, wrapping itself around his brain again. He knows he can't waste time but he can't believe any time spent remembering Elena is wasted. "Damon, you do realise you are running out of time?"

Damon nods, "I can't."

"You need to stop torturing yourself. What's done is done. The sooner you leave town, the sooner you won't care about this." Klaus calls Stefan over and he takes Elena to his room. Damon tries to follow but Klaus stops him. The pressure steadily increases and Damon can no longer hold off the inevitable. He still has people to see and a car to collect so he begins his walk to the Gilbert house.

* * *

At the Gilbert house Damon runs into Ric who immediately starts in at him about his behaviour from last night. Damon holds up a hand in a stop motion.

"What Damon?"

"Phone." He holds out his hand. He knows Stefan has his and he has no way to do the things he needs to do before he forgets everything.

"What the hell is your problem Damon?" Ric is pissed at his friend's odd behaviour.

Damon uses a 'gimme' gesture holding his hand out for Ric's phone, "Hieroglyphs." He used his second word. At least this way he won't fuck up in annoyance at Ric's stubborn refusal to hand over his phone.

"Hieroglyphs? What the fuck Damon? I'd ask if you were on drugs but I'm not even sure they work on vampires."

Damon glares at Ric still holding his hand out. When Ric ignores him, he walks up to Elena's room where his things were. The second he hit her room he removed his shirt, now lightly scented with his smell from the walk over. He removed her pillow from its case, wrapped his shirt around the pillow and placed in all back inside the case. Hopefully it would give her some comfort even once he was gone. He grabbed his jacket and headed back downstairs. He held his hand out to Ric who placed his keys in it. He kept his hand there intensely staring at Ric who eventually dropped his phone into it. "I hope you plan on explaining yourself at some point." Damon nods and uses Ric's phone to dial Jeremy.

"Hey Ric. What's up man?" Jeremy's bright happy voice sounded so strange to Damon. It was almost unnatural.

"Apples."

"Is that you Damon? What do you mean appl…" There was silence on the other end of the line as memories hit Jeremy of being compelled to leave town. "You bastard! You fucking compelled me again?"

"Home." Two words done. He's never been so pleased to have used a safe word for his compulsion. There was no point staying on the line so Damon ended the call.

"Damon, WHAT! THE! FUCK!" Ric slammed his hand on the wall, "after everything we did to get Jeremy safe you go and call him home? And what's with the silent treatment? You've only said two words to me since you got here…" Damon tapped the side of his head at that, begging Ric to think, "and you only said two words to Jeremy…" Damon vigorously nodded his head hoping Ric can put the pieces together, "you can't say, can you?" Damon shook his head, "you are going somewhere?" Damon nodded. "Wait here." Ric went to the fridge and retrieved the blood bags he had earlier in the day. "Here take these, I'm sure you'll need them." Damon hugged Ric and turned to leave, "I'll find you Damon. Somehow, Elena, Jeremy, together we'll find you." Damon shook his head sadly and at the mention of Elena his eyes watered. He was so close and now he's lost it all. Ric followed Damon to the car and watched as he, put a clean shirt on and then pulled a map and pen out of the glove compartment. He repeatedly drew a large asterisk on the western edge of the map. He then smiled with an idea and drew a circle around Atlanta. The clue will probably be useless to Ric without Elena but he can't leave without trying. And this way he can feel connected to Elena even after he forgets he ever met her. He added a note to the circle reminding himself to go to Atlanta before heading west.

He sat in the car trying to do anything but leave. He didn't want to forget her. He sat there while Ric watched wondering what the fuck was going on. He sat there remembering everything he could, every moment he ever spent with her. Every time he touched her, kissed her, hell even every time he annoyed her just to get a reaction. With every memory, he felt his time slipping away, the pressure wound tighter around his brain. He ignored it the best he could, eyes glistening both from memories and pain. Eventually the pain won out, Damon started his car and crept slowly towards the border of town. He slowed at the border and tried to think of anything else he could do before he forgot everything. He was left relying on Ric, Jeremy and a compelled Elena against Klaus and Stefan. He gave them all he could but he didn't think it would be enough. All he could think is that surely, they were better than the alternative… relying on finding Katherine. With that last sobering thought in mind he headed across the border.

* * *

Damon drove along the highway not quite sure where he was headed or why. Must have had a bad dose of drugs in that last feed he picked up… but he couldn't remember where from…

"Aha. My map. Looks like this party is headed for Atlanta." Damon remembered only one person from Atlanta, Bree. She was a witch. Maybe she could help narrow down his west coast search for Katherine.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about the delay in putting this chapter up. I did intend to have it up over the weekend but the first week back at school was so much more exhausting than I was expecting. In good news I have started chapter 5 while waiting for my beta so hopefully that chapter will be posted quicker.

Again thank you so much for reading & reviewing this is my first attempt at writing something like this so feedback is always appreciated.

* * *

Elena woke up with the warmth of the sun. She took a deep breath and a safe, familiar scent invaded her body. It confused her though. As familiar as it felt, she couldn't place it. It was masculine but was nothing like her father, her brother or Matt. It also smelled strongly of alcohol but Aunt Jenna was the only one she knew who drank very much and it was nothing like her! Even so it was very comforting and she laid there in her bubble of security a while longer.

Stefan watched as Elena woke up. He could tell she wasn't asleep anymore because her heartbeat had changed. That's how he knew she must have been thinking about him. She had a happy smile on her face and that's how she always woke up in the days after they 'met'. He had watched her so many times since he saved her from the car accident that he figured he could read every expression she had. Stefan felt satisfied that the compulsion had worked, now Elena could go back to being the happy, naïve girl, unaware of the supernatural. Until he told her of course. And he would. When the time was right. His happiness dimmed slightly when she frowned. Maybe it hadn't worked properly after all? Maybe she was thinking about his annoying, backstabbing brother and all the trouble he had caused? Then again when they met it was only a few months after her parents had died, so maybe she was still thinking about that? He thought that perhaps he could have tried harder to save her father. Her mother was already gone but he could have ripped the door off the front of the car so her father had a chance. Although he never would have approved of Elena dating a vampire so maybe it all worked out for the best after all. Stefan ceased his internal battle when he saw Elena's eyes open.

The silence was what finally popped Elena's bubble back into reality. Normally after a late night her father would be in the kitchen preparing an extremely noisy breakfast for the family. And there was no way Jenna would let her sleep in after skipping family night. She couldn't even remember how she had eventually gotten home last night, she remembered calling her parents but that's it. She sat up confused.

"Elena." A man spoke from her window seat. Elena screamed.

"Elena. It's okay. It's me, Stefan. Your boyfriend." He held his hands out towards her and she backed further up her bed.

"Elena! Are you okay?" A second man flew into her room brandishing a tranquilizer gun and a stake? Was that really a stake in his hand? She got up and ran for the bathroom she shared with Jeremy. She locked the door and opened the one opposite, the one that lead to Jeremy's room. She looked around his room and it seemed… different. She couldn't point to anything specific but it just wasn't quite how she remembered it. She turned back to the bathroom and she heard some arguing coming from her room before some quiet knocking on the bathroom door followed by the second man speaking very calmly.

"Elena. I'm not sure what has you so upset but if you just come out and talk to me I'm sure we can figure it out. I sent Stefan away if that helps." He sounded calm, quiet, kind and gentle but he didn't belong in her house and she had no idea who he was.

"Is that what you did to my family too?" Elena slid down onto the floor of the bathroom. She crawled over to the cabinet and started searching for anything she could use as a weapon. The best she could find was the curling iron, it would have to do.

"What do you mean?" The man sounded genuinely confused, but this was even more confusing to Elena. How can the one invading her home be confused about what is happening?

"Did you send them away? My parents? My brother? My aunt? Where are they?" Her voice started to rise in panic but so far, she was keeping mostly under control.

"Jeremy is in Denver, with family friends remember? But he told me this morning he is on his way home. He'll be here this afternoon." The man was still speaking calmly and deep-down Elena FELT that he was telling the truth, but she had no recollection of any of it.

"Okay. But what about the rest of my family? Where is everyone? And who are you? And what are you doing IN MY HOUSE!" She sat on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees and the curling iron clutched tightly in her hand.

"Look, I'm not sure what is going on here Elena, I have a feeling this is connected to what happened to Damon yesterday. I'm going to call Bonnie, maybe she can help." Elena's heart began to beat rapidly at the mention of the name Damon. She had no idea why, she didn't even know anyone by that name. It made her sad and angry without understanding any of it. She was so pleased to hear the man say he was calling Bonnie though. She was so grateful she almost said thank you to the intruder.

Ric walked downstairs to the kitchen and called Bonnie. He didn't give her any details but asked her to come alone and bring her grimoire just in case. After calling Bonnie, Ric decided to try one more call.

* * *

Damon was currently sitting at an empty bar, pouring himself drink after drink while waiting for Bree to show up and help him track down Katherine. He hadn't seen her in a decade or so but her name was still on the door so he figured it was a good place to start. His day drinking was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a cell phone. He pulled it out and looked at the screen which simply read "Home". Normally he'd ignore it and continue on his way, but he was bored so what the hell, "Hello Home of person I probably ate and took this phone from."

"Damon, it's me Ric." Damon was confused, how the hell did a random person know who he was? Was someone tracking him?

"How the hell do you know my name? Cos I sure as fuck don't know you!" Why would anyone want to be looking for him? He hadn't been on anyone's radar in years. All in all, he's kept a pretty low profile.

"Damon, I don't know what's going on. You are on MY phone I gave it to you yesterday." That made a little more sense to Damon, he did have that little black out episode yesterday.

"Okay, look. I obviously got blackout drunk yesterday and you think we 'bonded' but I don't know why the fuck you are calling me. I'm not giving your phone back; just be thankful I didn't eat you." He removed the phone from his ear and was about to end the call when he heard the voice say, "It's about Elena, Damon." He had no idea who Elena was but the mention of her name caused pain like a stake through his chest. He returned the phone to his ear.

"I don't know why you think any of this should matter to me. I don't know you and I don't know… her." This time Damon did end the call. Unfortunately, the pain didn't stop. He grabbed another bottle.

* * *

Stefan flew into the living room of Klaus' mansion in a panic but stopped short at the sight before him. The scent caused the veins under his eyes to emerge and his fangs slammed into his bottom lip painfully.

"You really do have **no** control, do you? Klaus looked up at him smugly from the writhing blood orgy on the floor.

"Shut. Up. Klaus." Stefan spoke through clenched teeth, obviously struggling to maintain any semblance of control over his demon.

"Ha. You come waltzing into my home uninvited, embarrass yourself by vamping out, barely restrain yourself from eating my guests and then you want to tell ME to shut up? You really are as self-centred and self-righteous as your brother says, aren't you?" Klaus extricated himself from the pile on the floor and walked over to stand in front of Stefan.

Stefan made no response. His eyes were glued to the blood smeared all over Klaus' torso, the heady scent caused his nostrils to flare with every breath.

"Stefan… You know you want it, just have a taste." Klaus indicated to his blood-soaked body before he turned and pointed at the pile of people in various states of consciousness, the more alert ones pleasuring each other or themselves, continuing to spread the blood, covering their bodies until no skin remained clean, "Or you can have it fresh if you prefer."

"I…I…I can't," Stefan reached out and touched the blood on Klaus' chest, "I can't risk it," he ran his fingers through the blood, tracing patterns on Klaus' firm flesh, "I have to keep off humans… Or I could hurt Elena." Stefan's body was rigid with desire and trembling with the need for blood.

"Well we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we? After all the trouble we've gone through to keep her blood exactly where I need it." Klaus stepped forward so that Stefan's hand was now flat on his chest. Stefan slowly trailed it left to right while winding down and stopped just under his navel before winding back up again.

"I don't think it worked right," Stefan voice sounds vague, his entire body is too focused on the blood to concentrate, "She didn't remember me when she woke up."

"It was a large chunk of time Stefan, I wouldn't worry about it. She was probably just confused when she woke up. Now about your problem… why don't I compel you not to feed on her?" Klaus removed Stefan's hand from his chest and held it up in front of Stefan's mouth. He stared intensely at his hand, he could barely remember what they were talking about.

"How do I know you won't compel me to do anything… else?" Stefan's eyes flicked up to Klaus' before they returned to his hand, he drew it nearer to his mouth, savouring the scent, salivating for the taste.

"Oh, come on now Stefan, you know I don't need compulsion for that, I'd much rather the challenge of you bending to my will… voluntarily," with that last word Klaus placed one hand on Stefan's erection and the other guided Stefan's fingers into his mouth. Those simultaneous actions sent Stefan's body into shudders and he was lost in the blood, forgetting completely why he was there in the first place.

* * *

Bonnie had barely made it onto the porch when the door was opened by a very worried looking Ric. "Thanks so much for coming Bonnie, I honestly didn't know what else to do."

"Why am I here? And why all the secrecy?"

"It's a long story but for now I need you to help me calm Elena. She doesn't know who I am, she didn't know who Stefan was and she seems to have no memories of the last year and a half." Bonnie's expression matched what Ric thought his must have been when he first called her.

"Okay, where is she?" Bonnie's mask slipped into place and she became all business.

"She's in her bathroom. She fled in there after seeing me and Stefan this morning." Ric sighed at his inability to be useful right now.

"Stefan? What was he doing here?" Bonnie looked worried. And that worried Ric. He's not sure what he has missed.

"I actually don't know. I kicked him out as soon as she freaked out, but I really don't think I got the full story." Ric followed Bonnie up the stairs and then waited outside Elena's room. "Bonnie, keep in mind Elena doesn't seem to know anything about the supernatural and it might be a good idea not to suddenly spring that on her." Bonnie nodded and then headed into Elena's room.

"Elena. Are you okay?" Bonnie quietly called through the door and she heard movement inside.

"Bonnie? Is that really you?" Elena sounded relieved and opened the door a crack before flinging it open. Then she launched at Bonnie and almost knocked her over. "Bonnie, I don't know what is going on, there were these men in my room and I can't find my family." Bonnie looked over Elena's shoulder to Ric and he shrugged. He had no idea either.

"Well firstly, I can tell you that you can trust Ric. He would never hurt you and he is very worried about you. How about we go downstairs for some lunch while we work out what is going on?" Elena held on to Bonnie tightly but nodded her head and moved downstairs with her. She looked up at Ric on her way past and gave him a small apologetic smile.

Ric organized lunch while the girls sat in the lounge room to talk. Bonnie didn't want to overwhelm Elena with details about what she couldn't remember so she started with something easier, "What is the last thing you remember before this morning?"

Elena relaxed slightly at the question, at least this was something she could answer, "I remember talking to you."

Bonnie smiled, "What were we talking about?"

Elena rolled her eyes and sighed, "Matt of course. Same old thing about letting him go."

Bonnie's eyes widened and she tried not to allow her voice to give away her shock, "Do you remember where we were when this happened?"

Elena looked at Bonnie and said warily, "At the bonfire last night… don't you remember? I left early after fighting with Matt. I called home and spoke to my parents and they were coming to pick me up so I called you. I was standing out on the road waiting for them." Elena was frightened by the look on Bonnie's face, "What is it Bonnie?"

"Elena, I don't know how to tell you this… it's November." Bonnie sat quietly and watched Elena process this first bombshell.

"What the hell Bonnie? How did I lose six months of my life?" Elena's voice betrayed her rising panic and Bonnie wasn't sure how to tell her the rest.

Ric brought in plates of food and set them down in front of the girls, "What Bonnie is trying to tell you is that it is November… 2010."

Elena flew out of her seat and began to pace around the room, "18 months? You are telling me I'm missing 18 months."

Ric tried to catch Elena's arm but she flew away from him, "You, I don't even know you. Maybe you drugged me and that's why I can't remember things."

"Maybe we need to get Caroline over here, maybe two faces she knows could help. The fact she doesn't remember you is obviously part of the problem Ric." Bonnie looks apologetically at Ric.

Ric sighs, "No. None of **them**. I'm pretty sure that's part of the problem here which is why I called you. I know you are 'Team Human' and with your particular **talents** you can't be **compelled** into working for **them**." Bonnie nodded and opened her grimoire looking for something she could try. Ric looked up at Elena and realized that she was staring open mouthed at Ric and Bonnie.

"What the hell are you two on about?" Elena's brain just can't seem to make sense out of their conversation. She is even more confused by the huge, ancient looking book open on Bonnie's lap.

"Ric, you never told us what happened this morning. Why was Stefan in Elena's room and what was his explanation about what happened to Elena?" Bonnie closed her grimoire and put it aside, she hoped to avoid supernatural explanations for the time being.

"Well that's the thing," Ric sat down in a chair, "Stefan's story makes no sense. He said that Elena told Damon she didn't want him in her life anymore so he got angry and pushed her. She hit her head. Stefan 'fixed' her, brought her home and waited for her to wake up. And according to him Damon left town straight after that." At the mention of that name again her body physically reacted. Her heart raced, her chest hurt and the sad, angry feelings returned. Could it be because this person hurt her? That's not how it felt but maybe she was confused about that too.

"Bullshit." Ric raised his eyebrows at Bonnie's outburst.

"I agree. But I have information you don't. Would you care to elaborate?" He had an amused expression on his face.

"Look, you know how I feel about **them**. And Damon and I don't even pretend to get along, we barely tolerate each other for Elena's sake…"

"I'm right here you know… And I don't even know who Damon is!" Ric is saddened by Elena's words. Not long ago he'd have given anything for Damon to be away from Elena. But now hearing them both in pain while not remembering the other… he regretted his previous actions.

"I know Elena. And we'll get to explanations soon but for right now we are trying to work out what happened. So, as I was saying, my feelings about Damon are well known and even I know he would never touch Elena in anger. You and I both know that he is so whipped he'd stake himself through the heart if that's what she wanted." Bonnie realized too late what she had said. She only hoped Elena hadn't heard her slip.

"Did you say stake? As in pointy wood?" Elena remembered seeing a stake recently but so much had happened she wasn't sure of herself.

"No, I said stab. Right Ric?"

"Yeah. Stab." Ric looked unsure. "Look, I need to go and get Jeremy from Richmond, can you call Meredith and see if there are any medical explanations she can find for this?"

"Sure. But Meredith? Is that wise? With everything else going on?" Bonnie had been dealing so much with coffins and her mother that she really didn't know if they had cleared Meredith of being involved in the latest murders.

"It will be fine. And we really don't have a choice. She is the only doctor we can trust with this… stuff." Ric collected his things and headed out the door.

"I'm sure you said stake, Bonnie. What aren't you guys telling me?" Elena finally felt a bit calmer and now just wanted to understand her life.

"Quite a lot really," Bonnie sighed, "but I think we should wait for Jeremy and Ric. Truthfully Elena, over the past 18 months there have been so many times I wish I could go back to that time. Do you think for a few hours you could indulge me? Let's watch a movie and do girly things until the boys get back okay?"

Elena looked at her friend and for the first time realized how worn down she appeared. Life in their future must be a little tougher than she knew. If her best friend wanted an afternoon of girly indulgence then that's what she would get. "Of course, Bon."

* * *

Damon was onto his third bottle by the time the lock turned in the door. The pain in his chest had eased some but it still bothered him. What bothered him even more was that he didn't know why it bothered him. It was a vicious cycle he was caught in.

"What are you doing here vampire?" The question was asked by a dark-haired girl he didn't recognize. Although she shared some features with Bree it was obviously not the woman he came here for.

"Witch, I'm guessing? Not the one I'm looking for though." Damon poured himself a fresh drink while the girl busied herself preparing the bar to open.

"If you are looking for my aunt Bree, you are about a year too late. Vampire got her. Your kind aren't exactly welcome here now." She barely acknowledged him but answered him anyway. She'd rather not deal with a pissed off, and judging from the empty bottles on the bar, drunk vampire. If she could figure out what he wanted maybe he'd go away and they could both get on with their lives.

"Damn. Haven't seen her in a while but I figured she could hold her own. How'd they get to her?" The Bree he knew always enjoyed the torture of vampires who annoyed her, he'd been on the receiving end of excruciating pain at her hand plenty of times.

"Apparently she knew him. The way I heard it was that she had helped another vampire get revenge on this one for killing his girlfriend, Alex or Alexia, something like that…"

"Lexi?" Damon was shocked to hear Lexi was dead. He still felt bad for locking her on a roof top. But if this all happened a year ago why hadn't Stefan called to cry about Lexi?

"Yeah that sounds about right. So apparently this vampire, Damon comes in with his human girl, Elena I think… yeah Elena. So, Bree tells the other vampire and he shows up only its Bree who ends up dead. So yeah, your kind aren't welcome here." She takes his empty bottles from the bar. Places a fresh one on the counter and indicates to the door, "one for the road."

Damon took the hint. He picked up the full bottle and headed back to his car. His head was spinning from everything he had just heard. How could he not remember killing Lexi? And there was that name again. Elena. Every time he heard it fresh pain surged through his chest and it sat there throbbing. He needed to head west. Katherine would be there somewhere. She would know how to ease his pain.

* * *

Stefan dropped the last body to the floor and sat up with his back against the couch. He felt much more alert, much more himself, just much **more**.

"I knew you needed that Stefan. Now that you can think clearly, what was the problem you came here with? Elena didn't remember you?" He turned to face Stefan.

"Yeah. You are probably right though, it was all very confusing for her. It's understandable that her thoughts are jumbled. I'm sure when I go back over there everything would be fine." He stood up preparing to leave.

"Aren't you forgetting something Stefan?" Klaus looked at Stefan with an amused smirk on his face.

"What?" Stefan was confused.

"Our compulsion. For you not to feed on Elena?" Klaus stood and moved towards Stefan.

"Nah, I don't need that now. I have it all under control. I feel fine." He smiled and tried to step past Klaus who put an arm out to stop him.

"That may be so, but I'd feel much better if we just," Klaus pulled Stefan into his compulsion, "You will not feed on Elena, you aren't even interested in her blood. The sight and scent of her blood is repulsive to you." Klaus smiled and stepped away letting Stefan head out the door.

"You know that wasn't necessary right. I'm totally fine?" Stefan's face betrayed his words. He looked slightly deranged, especially since he was still covered in blood.

"Of course not. So, what harm could it do?" Klaus was a little concerned, if Stefan went off the rails right now things could fall apart. Although really, he has guaranteed Elena won't be harmed and anything else would just be entertaining. "Oh Stefan… you might consider a change of clothes and a shower if you'd rather Elena **not** run away from you screaming again…"

Stefan glanced down at his blood-soaked clothes, nodded his head and left. He would do as Klaus suggested, but then he was heading straight to Elena's house.


	5. Chapter 5

The door to the Gilbert house opened and the two girls guided Meredith out. "Thanks for dropping by Meredith."

"You are welcome Elena. I just wish I could have been more help. Honestly the human brain is just so complex, there is so much we don't understand." Elena smiled and Meredith returned to her car. The two girls returned to their seats in the lounge room.

"Bonnie… what happened to my family?" Elena looked down at her hands. She felt like she already knew the answer even if she couldn't remember.

"What do you **feel** has happened Elena?" Bonnie faced her friend and held her hand, "Ignore what you can't remember, tell me what you **feel**."

"I feel…" Elena took a breath before continuing, "I feel like I lost them, but not just this morning." She raised her eyes to look at Bonnie who nodded. Bonnie saw the first tears as they fell. She pulled Elena to her chest and held her as she grieved again. For her family she had lost. Again.

* * *

Stefan stood outside Elena's door. He could hear crying coming from inside. Maybe she had finally remembered who he was and felt bad for him being sent away this morning. He could also hear Bonnie comforting Elena. That concerned him. If the witch worked out what he and Klaus were up to there could be trouble. Even so it was Klaus' compulsion not his so it couldn't come back on him if anyone did find out. Stefan stepped up to the door and knocked. It was important now to play the role he created when they first met. He was so used to being the vampire again that this was going to be a stretch.

Bonnie opened the door and he could see the hostility in her glare. She knew something. He'd have to find out what exactly. "Good afternoon Bonnie. Maybe I come in? I'd like to see if Elena is alright after the events of last night and this morning." He smiled his best 'human gentleman' smile he had and waited far more patiently than he felt for Bonnie to step aside and allow him to pass.

He saw Elena still seated in the lounge room and he began to sit next to her until he saw her shrink away from him. Instead he chose the seat opposite, where Ric had been sitting earlier. "Elena, I know you were confused this morning, and normally I wouldn't be sitting in your room when you woke up, but I'm Stefan, your boyfriend, remember?"

"Ex." Bonnie voice sounded from across the room as she moved to sit next to Elena.

Stefan was fuming inside but tried to retain his calm façade. Bonnie was smiling smugly at him only enraging him further. She knew. How could she know her comment was making him furious?

"Bonnie, this is between Elena and myself, could you please give us some privacy?"

"No." Elena finally spoke. Stefan looked at Elena in surprise. "I remember her. She stays."

"What do you mean you remember her? Do you still not remember me?" Stefan was beginning to lose his composure. The whole point of the compulsion was to take Elena back to before she met Damon, not before she met him!

"No, I don't. The last thing I knew I was dating Matt, I have no recollection of even meeting you let alone dating you."

"Okay. Well you are meeting me now, so let's spend some time together and you can get to know me again." Stefan was scrambling to save something out of this mess. He didn't realise how desperate he was sounding to Bonnie. She was becoming more suspicious of his motives by the second.

"Stefan, if you care about Elena you'll give her some time to figure out what is going on. She doesn't need to be pushed right now." Bonnie spoke calmly but firmly, she wasn't afraid of Stefan, she could hurt him quicker than he could hurt her.

"I'm not trying to push her Bonnie. I just want to be here with her. To help her. It's where I should be."

"Not anymore it isn't. She doesn't remember you Stefan. Until she is feeling more herself you need to leave her alone." Stefan stood up angrily and took a step towards Bonnie, his rage written all over his face. Bonnie whispered to him, "I'd be careful how you respond right now. You show her the ripper and I guarantee she never speaks to you again. Now leave before I make you."

Stefan turned away from the girls and stormed out of the house almost crashing into Ric and Jeremy coming through the door.

"Wow. Stefan looks pissed. She still not remember him?" Jeremy smirks at Stefan's departure.

"Jeremy? Jeremy!" Elena emerges from the lounge room and wraps her brother into her arms. Which is much harder than she remembered, he's grown so much. "I'm so glad you're here." Her voice is muffled by his shirt but he heard her anyway.

"I'm glad I'm here too. And I'd like to be pissed at you for sending me away but you don't remember doing it so I guess I'll have to wait until you do."

Elena pulled back and looked up at Jeremy in shock, "I'd never…"

"Yeah you would," he interrupted her denial, "and I even understand why. But I wish the three of you would have given me a choice." He looked up at Ric who at least looked a little guilty.

"You mean us three?" Elena indicated Bonnie, Ric and herself, "We all sent you away?"

"Actually, I argued it should be his choice, we fought over it for a couple of days." Bonnie seemed offended that she would ever consider sending Jeremy away.

"You did that for me? Even though I cheated on you?" Bonnie nodded with a grimace recalling why they had broken up in the first place. "Thank you, Bonnie."

"Wait! What?" Elena's mouth had dropped open at the inadvertent bombshell. "You two were…" She pointed between them and Jeremy laughed.

"Yes Elena, seems like you have a lot to catch up on. But by 'three' I meant you, Ric and Damon. I shouldn't have been surprised. Compelled away by my fake big sister, my almost uncle and my wannabe brother in law…" Jeremy laughed at his own joke and then noticed the others were looking at Elena. She had been lost in her own pain at the mention of Damon, but then Jeremy had said fake sister and every other thought left her brain. She was staring at Jeremy in stunned silence.

"What do you mean fake sister?"

It was then that Jeremy realised his mistake, "Ah, fuck."

* * *

Upon leaving Elena's house Stefan went for a walk into the forest. He pounded some trees. He launched his body up into the air and let it fall back to earth. He tried anything to create pain strong enough to override his current rage.

When he felt calm enough he changed course to the boarding house. He collected his cell, texted Klaus that he was coming over then drank down two blood bags before leaving. Just in case. He didn't want to be in a situation where Klaus could manipulate his anger again.

As he arrived at the mansion Klaus opened the door to allow him inside. "It's good to know you **can** learn to use a cell phone Stefan."

Stefan rolled his eyes and strolled into the large open foyer. His body was pulsing with rage combined with blood but he didn't want Klaus to have the upper hand so he tried to project calmness.

"What can I do for you this evening Stefan? I hope you are up for a big night, I feel like hitting the town." Klaus was feeling good. His family may have abandoned him but in doing so they took the only threat against him with them. He has Damon out of his hair so he has access to Elena's blood and he would soon be able to start making new hybrids. Things were really starting to fall into place.

"It didn't work." Stefan was acting like it was no big thing but his voice was strained enough for Klaus to notice.

Klaus sighed, "We went over this this morning. It was a big time wipe. It will all be fine." Klaus poured them both a drink. He knew he wouldn't be getting out of here until he took the edge of the jitters he could see bouncing around Stefan's body.

"No. That's not it. She remembers Bonnie and Jeremy. She doesn't remember me or Alaric. She thinks she is still dating Matt. She broke up with Matt when her parents died Klaus. She isn't confused, she doesn't remember! She lost more than we planned! How is this even possible!" Stefan paced around the room as he spoke.

"Here. Drink this. It will take the edge off. We will figure this out. It can't be the compulsion it was simple enough. It must be something else going on here."

Stefan took the offered drink and downed it. Klaus refilled it. "How?" Stefan downed the second drink, "How will we figure this out?"

"Does it matter Stefan? So, she doesn't remember you. That also means she doesn't remember any of the things you did to her. You have the opportunity to truly start again. Don't waste it sulking."

"I know but all I wanted was for her to remember she loved me before she met my interfering brother. Now she doesn't even know who I am." He looked down at his empty glass and sighed.

"That's irrelevant Stefan. If she loved you that hasn't been compelled away. You know as much as I do that you can't remove the emotions only the memories. Once she spends some time with you she will feel it. Until then don't give her reason to avoid you by having one of your little tantrums." He took Stefan's glass and placed it beside his own on the bar. "Now let's get out of this town for the night!"

"Fine. But we'll need to swing by my place on our way so I can get changed." It seemed that Klaus' words may have finally gotten through as a small smile appeared on Stefan's face.

"Fantastic! Let's go!"

* * *

"I don't know what I'm more shocked by; You two, Matt and Caroline or You and Jenna!" Elena collapsed with laughter onto the couch.

"What can't you see about me and Jenna?" Ric asked quietly, still very much missing her.

"I don't mean any offense Ric it's just that Jenna was all party and fun while you seem to have your shit together a little bit." Elena was no longer laughing.

"That just proves that you really don't remember me!" Ric said with a smile, "but honestly I met the Jenna who was raising two teens while trying to study and work part time. She was fun and happy but also hardworking and responsible, even if she REALLY couldn't cook!"

"Ric I'm so glad that Jenna had you. Then Jenna I remember hadn't found someone who made her feel like you talk about her, and I'm so pleased she got to experience that."

"Thank you, Elena. I feel so fortunate to have had her in my life too. Especially after being married to Isobel." Ric felt his chest swell at the conversation but wanted it away from him again, "Now it's Matt and Caroline that I don't get. Matt is so quiet and polite while Caroline is so…"

"Caroline!" the three teens all chorused and then burst into laughter. Ric left them to their gossiping and organized some take out for dinner. He was impressed at how much catching up they had managed without explaining to Elena anything supernatural. There would be time for that tomorrow. It was enough that she had to reprocess the death of Jenna and her parents, both sets, not to mention all the other deaths and the fall out that had occurred. He thought it was quite cathartic for all of them to revisit those people they had lost. And they had all lost someone. However, the afternoon had been about much more than just death. They ran through all the positives of the last 18 months too. And he felt like it gave them hope for the future. Educating Elena gave them all a little perspective and maybe the supernatural wasn't all bad. And he really did miss having another adult around to discuss this stuff with, even if it was a vampire.

* * *

On his way to the bar Stefan noticed a familiar blonde vampire writhing her way across the dance floor with a myriad of partners. After ordering drinks Stefan turned to where Klaus was sitting in a booth and raised an eyebrow. He clearly heard, "Oh shut up Stefan," in return. This was followed by an invitation to Caroline to join them when she wanted some company.

Stefan returned to the booth with the drinks and whispered, "Did you know she would be here? Is that why you chose here?"

"I may have heard a rumour that she comes here where no one knows her to blow off steam when she feels the buzz and after this week's events I felt she may well be here, yes." Klaus picked up his drink to avoid talking any further.

"This week's events?" Stefan's look changed from smug to curious.

"Her father died. Have you been so caught up in your own petty drama that you really have no clue what is going on in your friends lives Stefan?"

"If you two are going to talk about me I may as well be sitting here." Caroline managed to smile while glaring at both of them and slid into the seat beside Stefan.

"Caroline love. So, glad you could join us." Klaus smiled sincerely at Caroline annoying Stefan.

He worked his way out of the booth and went outside to get some air. He was beginning to worry about Damon's compulsion. If Elena's went wrong what is there to guarantee that Damon's worked how it was supposed to? It was more complex than Elena's and covered about the same amount time frame. His problem was that he had no idea how he could check, although as long as Damon never returned it would have to be okay. It was only yesterday when everything had made so much sense and now everywhere he went things were all fucked up and no one wanted him around anymore. Maybe it was time to go home and put this whole horrible day behind him.

* * *

"You really don't need to do this Jer, it's your first night back, you should sleep in your own bed." Elena looked over at her brother getting comfortable in his sleeping bag propped up in her window seat.

"I know I don't. But I want to. Just for tonight I want to be in here with you. To make sure you are okay." He didn't tell her that Ric had equipped him with a stash of weapons should any vampire try to come in through the window. Tomorrow Jeremy would ask them to sign over the house to him. It was the only way to keep known vampires out.

"Alright. I'll let you stay. On one condition…" she looked up at Jeremy and he nodded for her to continue, "tomorrow you tell me the rest. Why Bonnie looks so tired, why Ric didn't want Caroline here, why Bonnie and Ric don't like Stefan being here and… and…" she couldn't bring herself to say his name, she was afraid of those feelings returning again, "and anything else I need to know."

"You mean like who Damon is?" Jeremy smirked, so much like the vampire he'd spent too much time around. His faced quickly changed as he saw how much pain Elena was in. "Are you okay?" He leapt off the window seat to her bed but she held up a hand to stop him.

"I'm okay." Jeremy looked at her doubtfully, "No, really I am. It's just that whenever I hear his name I feel sad and angry and I get a pain deep in my chest. I can't explain it. I think it feels like grief. Like he was taken. How can I grieve someone I don't know Jer?"

Jeremy smiled at his sister. She had no idea but he thought it was fitting that she understood now what he had felt when they compelled him to forget Vicki had died. He still felt all that grief but had no idea why. "I'll explain it to you tomorrow okay." He hugged her then returned to his watch post at the window seat. He'd slept half the morning while travelling and he'd promised Alaric he'd stay awake to watch over his sister tonight. They wanted to make sure she didn't have any more 'accidents'.

* * *

Damon found himself in the middle of nowhere. In fact, he thought it might be even more isolated than that, the people from this town probably went to nowhere on vacation. Still it had a roadhouse that would provide him with the only three things he cared about tonight a bed, booze and blood.

After sorting the bed, he entered the bar looking to fulfil his other needs. There were a few other patrons, all male, not exactly what he was looking for tonight. Fortunately, the bartender, while older and a little worn out, was an attractive blonde-haired woman who was much more Damon's type. The second she spotted him he had all her attention. "What can I get you?" She leant over the bar as she spoke to highlight her assets but she needn't have bothered, it wasn't like there was any competition.

"Two bottles of your best bourbon… and you." Damon gave his flirtiest smile and the woman blushed. She grabbed two bottles from behind the bar and handed them over.

"I get off at 1."

"I'll be in my room. Room 2 out back." He left her twice the cash he needed to then left the bar and returned to his room.

Damon hadn't intended to fall asleep but he was woken from an amazing dream by the sounds of a quiet knocking on his door. He had wanted blood and release but now it felt so wrong, all he wanted was to go back into that dream. He opened the door to the woman, however instead of letting her in he pulled her into his compulsion, "We had a mind-blowing night, the best of your life and you went home sore and satisfied." Damon smirked, it's what would have happened if he'd let her in so why not.

He grabbed a blood bag from his stash in the mini fridge, it's odd he wasn't even sure when he started to drink from these but he understood the convenience, and sat back down on the bed thinking about the brunette beauty of his dreams. She was beautiful, just like Katherine, identical in fact, and yet somehow more beautiful, it was like she had another invisible layer that added to her exquisiteness. In his dream, he'd been standing at the bottom of a large staircase, watching as she descended wearing a dress so blue he could believe it was made to complement his eyes. He had taken her hand and she'd asked him where Stefan was. He laughed out loud as he remembered. Even in his dreams they wanted his brother too. Even so he had guided her out the door and heard the gasps and whispers of him dancing with this gorgeous creature. Sadly, for Damon it was at this point, when he turned to look into her eyes, that the knocking had begun and pulled him from sleep.

Damon threw the empty bag into his luggage and turned out the light. He hoped he could return to his dream, he wanted to know how it felt to dance with her, even if he had no idea who she was.


	6. Chapter 6

So… I lost my USB. It had EVERYTHING on it. My story outline (and outlines for other stories I hadn't even started yet), chapter outlines, an almost complete chapter, and all my copies of the chapters I've already posted.

As you can imagine it kind of killed my interest in writing for a while, knowing I needed to start from scratch. Then the story started to annoy me again. It wanted to be written. So, I began plotting and outlining again. I tried my hand at a chapter and then another. I didn't want to start posting again until I was sure that it was working and I knew I'd be able to finish it well.

* * *

Stefan had barely begun his long self-pitying walk home when he felt, more than heard, the tell-tale whoosh of his favorite blonde vampire.

"I am sorry to hear about your father." Stefan turned his head slightly, just enough to see her in his peripheral vision as she fell into step beside him.

"Thanks… I guess. I'm still not sure how to respond to that." She looked up into the sky as if the answer was written in the stars before she reached out her arm to hook it through his, and gently said, "but I'm not here about that. Our unfriendly neighbourhood hybrid mentioned that you were having some troubles of your own."

Stefan stopped walking and faced Caroline, an incredulous look upon his still slightly twitching face, "Caroline, you can't seriously be comparing my problems with Elena to your father dying?"

"Of course not Stefan," she replied. As she turned to face him her enhanced vision could see the twitches and tremors that ran through his skin and she was momentarily stunned speechless before ignoring them and pressing on. She knows it will need to be addressed but here and now is probably not the best place and time for **that** conversation, "but helping you with your problems allows me to forget mine for a little while. And besides we may actually have a chance to come up with a plan to fix yours, my problem will never be fixed." She sighed and her body drooped slightly, weighed down with the knowledge that her father preferred death than living like the monster he believed she was. Stefan's twitchy hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present and she slammed her personality back into place like a shield, "I have a great idea! My place, markers and snacks! Everything we needs to solve the problems of the world!" She planted a smile she didn't feel on her face and inwardly sighed with relief when she saw one appear in response on Stefan's face. Klaus wasn't joking when he suggested Stefan needed an intervention, if anything Caroline thought it was an understatement.

* * *

Jeremy could hear Elena's quiet sobs. They began the moment she woke up a little after 1 am. He'd spent the last 10 minutes trying to decide whether he should indicate he was awake and offer her comfort or continue to pretend not to notice in case she wanted the privacy. Surely, she'd already seen the glow of his cell phone in the dark room. If so then she was aware he was awake. But then maybe her eyes stayed closed while she cried and she was trying to be quiet so as not to wake him. He finally decided to do the brotherly thing and completely ignore any sense of sibling privacy, whispering into the darkness, "Bad dream?"

Abruptly the sobbing ceased and a startled Elena spun in her bed to face her brother, "Shit, Jer! I forgot you were sitting there! You scared me half to death." She drew her hands to her chest where her heart beat rapidly from fright and the gradually dulling pain she had woken with after her dream.

"Hey, at least it stopped you crying," he laughed at her.

"You ass!" she whisper-yelled as she threw one of her pillows at him. He caught it, threw it back and jumped onto the bed beside her as they both burst into laughter.

As their laughter subsided Elena became serious and sombre again before she asked, "How long were you awake for?" She bit her bottom lip with her teeth, embarrassed by the question and anxious about the answer she feared she would hear.

"I haven't slept yet Elena." He held up his cell with a zombie game clearly visible on the screen. "I've been using my time practically… I could always use more practice killing the undead," He smirked and then his face fell as he realized that he actually missed the annoying vampire who would have appreciated his quip. "Anyhow… you never answered my question, what were you crying about?" he asked, quickly pushing on before Elena could read anything into his expression.

"My dream…during my… lost time… did I ever wear a blue gown at Tyler's house?" She asked it so tentatively, still biting her bottom lip, like he would laugh at her for entertaining the idea that her dream was a memory.

Jeremy's face became confused before it clicked and his face lit up with realisation, "Yes! You did! It was Miss Mystic Falls… Do you remember it?"

"No, I just know it was a blue gown and it was the Lockwood's house. When I woke up I could only remember bits and pieces but they disappeared almost instantly, leaving me with the empty pain." Elena put her head into her hands and Jeremy pulled her to him.

"We will figure this all out Elena I swear. You won't be like this forever."

"I'm scared Jer… what if I go to sleep and it happens again? It hurts so much." She looked up at her little brother who seemed now so much taller and older than she had ever seen him before, "I'm too scared to go back to sleep."

Jeremy looked up at the open bedroom door and saw a glow coming from the hall, "So don't for now. How about I go downstairs and make us both a hot drink? Will you be okay for a few minutes?" He looked down at her concerned, this was making less sense all the time. What the hell happened to her?

"Yeah, of course I'll be fine. Actually, I think I'll have a shower while you get the drinks." As Elena got up and headed into the bathroom Jeremy moved into the hallway, almost colliding with Ric.

"How much did you hear?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow, impressed at Ric's ability to remain so quiet and still that neither teen had noticed him.

"Enough. I wasn't sleeping anyway and the laughter caught my attention. It's been so long since I've heard you two kids laugh like that…" Ric's pleased smile disappeared as quick as it had appeared, "None of this makes any sense…"

"We need Bonnie's help on this one. Maybe there is a way for her to 'go in' and look around in Elena's head…"

"You want Bonnie to go poking around in Elena's memories? Would you want anyone seeing yours?" Ric asked Jeremy indignantly, "And what if it hurts her more? What if Bonnie pokes around and Elena loses more than she already has?"

"You didn't see her in their Ric, she's terrified to sleep!" He was almost yelling by this point. Ric raised a finger to his lips then pointed at the bathroom where running water could be heard. "Yeah okay. Tomorrow. I'm going downstairs to make cocoa anyway. Want some?" Ric raised an eyebrow at Jeremy who smirked before adding, "Spiked of course…" Without waiting for an answer, the teen galloped down the stairs to the kitchen leaving Ric wondering at the resilience of his two charges, laughter and cocoa in the middle of the night in the midst of the tears and yet another supernatural drama.

* * *

Caroline carried the two tall glasses of red fluid into the lounge room and sat beside Stefan whose fingers were rapidly drumming on his knees. "My own special cocktail," she grinned, hoping he'd drink it without question. She was under no illusion that it would fix him but she was optimistic that the blend of alcohol, pigs blood and a dash of blood bag would at least calm him down long enough to figure out what was going on.

He took a small sip before looking up into Caroline's expectant face and was pleasantly surprised. "That's actually not bad…"

"You say that you like you expected anything less," she exclaimed indignantly. Stefan raised an eyebrow at Caroline who started laughing while he downed the rest of the glass. "Yeah okay I get your point, but drinks I can do, food… not so much, but drinks are my specialty. Want another glass?" She held out her hand to take the empty one from him then thought better of it and returned to the kitchen to retrieve the pitcher. This was going to be a long night.

Upon returning to the lounge room Caroline saw the guilty look that Stefan quickly tried to hide. She topped off both of their glasses then turned to Stefan and asked, "You want to tell me what's going on now?"

He sighed and reached for his second glass, took a few more sips, this time savoring his body's reaction to the blend. "It's all Damon's fault."

"You are going to have to be waaaay more specific Stefan." She smiled at Stefan and he continued.

"Elena told him she wanted nothing to do with him." Caroline struggled to keep a straight face at the thought, she had to bite her tongue to keep her mouth shut, "And… and he pushed her." This time she couldn't contain her incredulous outburst but covered it not so subtly with a cough and motioned for Stefan to keep talking, "I couldn't get to her in time and she hit her head. He took off and I fed her my blood to heal her but she's lost so many memories. She doesn't remember the last 18 months!" Hearing that her friend was hurt immediately overrode any doubtful humor she may have had about earlier far fetched aspects of Stefan's story.

"Is she okay? What do you mean she doesn't remember? Where is she Stefan? Is she okay?" Caroline grabbed onto Stefan's shirt so tightly the stitching began to pull apart.

Stefan carefully removed Caroline's grip from his clothing and replied, "Yes. She is okay except for the memory thing. She is at home as far as I know. That's where I took her and last I saw she had Alaric and Bonnie. Also, Jeremy was on his way in as I headed out. I was hoping you'd come with me to see her tomorrow?"

"Of course Stefan! Why aren't you there with her right now? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Caroline asked tersely and somehow managed to look hurt yet determined all at once.

"Bonnie." Stefan said firmly.

"What do you mean, Bonnie?" Caroline asked in confusion.

"She was the one who kicked me out. Threatened to force me out if I didn't leave. She's probably the one who is keeping you away from Elena too. You know how much she hates us," He replied with a sneer.

Caroline's mouth dropped open in shock and she couldn't help but notice the paranoid tone creeping into Stefan's words. "How can you say that Stefan? Sure, she's not a fan of vampires but she loves her friends no matter what they are!"

Stefan carefully poured another drink before replying, "Then why am here with you instead of over there with Elena tonight?"

Caroline was pleased to see that many of Stefan's twitches and tics had calmed. They were still obvious to her but may go unnoticed by a human. "I'm sure she is doing what she thinks is best for Elena," she held up her hand to stop whatever argument she could see launching itself from Stefan's insides, "I'm not saying she is right, but, if Elena has forgotten you then maybe a little space could help her adjust." Caroline looked down at her hands suddenly the seventeen-year-old she would be forever, "But that doesn't explain why no one told me," she added quietly.

"I told you. I wanted you to know." Stefan smiled at her, "And I guess we can ask them tomorrow," he looked up at the clock above the mantle, "make that today. Do you realize it is 4 am already?"

"What? No! Alright let's get some sleep and make plans in a few hours okay? Are you happy with the couch?" she asked indicating where they currently sat.

"That's fine. Thanks Caroline. For listening and helping, and for your cocktails they are amazing!" he exclaimed and then downed the rest of his glass.

"I know," she grinned at him as she tidied up their glasses and the pitcher. She stopped as she started to climb the stairs to her room, "Goodnight Stefan, I'm sure we will figure all of this out in the morning."

"Goodnight Caroline. I really hope you are right."

* * *

The figure listening from the porch was torn. He was pleased that Stefan finally had some control back before he ruined everything but he was concerned with how easy and intimate the friendship between the two vampires was. As he sauntered back to his mansion, whistling a tune that set off every dog he passed to a howl, he mulled over how he might manipulate the current situation the best to suit his purposes.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you very much for reading, following and reviewing. Your response to the story has made the extra work very much worth it.

* * *

A foreign but familiar presence roused Caroline from sleep as dawn approached. She was wary of waking Stefan so she whispered into the growing light, "Klaus… what are you doing in my room at 6 am?"

"Just checking in, seeing how things went with our friend downstairs."

"You know damn well how things went. Jitterbug down there may not have noticed you hanging around but I did. Now why are you really here?" her whispers still managed to convey her annoyance at her lack of sleep.

"Do you really intend to take him to see her today?" Klaus was sure to inflect as much concern as possible into his voice, it was an unfamiliar but useful tone.

"I'm worried about what he'll do if I don't, you saw him last night. He is barely hanging on."

"I'm worried about what he'll do if you do take him. You need to convince him to let you go alone first." Klaus thoroughly enjoyed watching Stefan teeter on the brink of losing control, even more so when he knew how close to falling over the edge Stefan was. Normally that would be the highest level of entertainment for Klaus, especially considering his role in the spiral into darkness. However, if Elena were to see Stefan it could seriously delay his current plans, no human girl is going to date the deranged monster sleeping downstairs.

Caroline turned in her bed to look at the hybrid who constantly infuriated and confused her. "Why do you even care? What's in it for you?"

Klaus allowed a hint of vulnerability to shine through, secure in the knowledge that it would disarm Caroline, "Can you imagine what it would do to him if he hurt her? My family have left me. My hybrids are only loyal through the sire bond. You and Stefan are all I have left."

A stab of empathy flashed through Caroline, knowing what it was to feel alone. "I'll see what I can do." She grinned, "but for that I'll need sleep, so get out!"

* * *

Elena was happy. She knew she was dreaming but that was okay. There was no pain in her dream. Only the beautiful man in the mirror placing a necklace on her as she held aside her hair. She couldn't hear in her dream, it was like someone had pressed the mute button. But that was okay too. She could tell from the smile on her face that she was happy, but a little lost. Then she linked her arm through his and there was nothing but sensation, the tingling, sparking electricity at the point where their skin made contact. If this was how it felt to touch him then Elena never wanted to stop touching him. She could barely focus on the corridors they walked along or the large ornate stairs that opened onto a sea of people, people she knew, it looked like everyone she knew was in this crowd!

Caroline was bouncing around as usual and then she became fuzzy and shimmery. Elena could just hear Jeremy's voice saying her name in the distance. She fought to stay in her dream, she tried to block him out, turning to the man on her arm and trying to hold onto him just a little longer. She knew how it would feel to wake up again, she didn't want to wake up and feel that pain all over again. As the man's features became more distorted Jeremy's voice became louder, "Elena, come on. Bonnie is here. Elena come on time to get up."

Elena sat up then doubled over in agony. She clutched at her chest and lashed out at Jeremy wherever he tried to touch her, "Don't touch me! I'll lose it if you do!"

"Lose what Elena? What is going on?" He crouched at the end of her bed, wanting to comfort her but not willing to risk getting any closer.

"It's gone! It hurts **so so** much!" Elena began to cry and to Jeremy it seemed like it was more about losing the memory than the physical pain. "It's gone… I can't feel him anymore." Elena drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her body.

Jeremy slowly backed away from the bed and stepped out into the hallway where both Bonnie and Ric stood with quizzical expressions. Jeremy raised an eyebrow at Ric, "I told you…"

"Yeah, okay, I get it." He held his hands up in surrender, "I'm heading back downstairs, I'm not so good with the crying teenage girl thing…" he said heading down the stairs.

Jeremy turned to Bonnie and said, "I've already had my turn. You heard her reaction… I think this is more of a 'girlfriend' thing… yeah… I'm out." And he followed Ric bounding down the stairs.

Bonnie sighed, "boys, seriously useless," under her breath and rolled her eyes before edging her way into Elena's doorway. She could see Elena sitting where Jeremy left her, knees up, arms wrapped around her legs and her head buried in her knees. Her long brunette hair cascaded around her creating a private cocoon to hold her pain away from everyone else. "Elena," Bonnie whispered into the room, afraid to startle her friend who was clearly already traumatized by her dreams.

Elena's head raised enough for Bonnie to see two red rimmed eyes with dark bags under them peeking out from the curtain of hair. When it became clear that no other response was forthcoming, Bonnie stepped into the room and sat beside Elena on the bed. "Elena, I don't know what's happening to you but I will do everything I can to help you, I'll find a way to make this right. I promise."

"How can you possibly fix what I don't even remember is wrong?" whispered Elena from her cocoon.

"Well, how about we start with a shower and then some breakfast. After that I'll tell you all about just how awesome I am at solving problems," Bonnie replied, giving her friend a smile of encouragement.

"Fine," grumbled Elena as she let Bonnie pull her up from the bed, "but I can't imagine anything you could tell me about you that I don't already know."

"We'll see Elena, we'll see."

* * *

Damon's awakening was far less gentle and infinitely more painful. His dream stopped so abruptly with the final image of the mystery girl turning to him in fear followed by the agonizing pain that came on so quickly he felt like he was under attack and his demon immediately emerged. Before Damon was even aware of what was happening, his demon was well in control of the situation flying out the door looking for prey. It wasn't until he was being blinded by the desert sun in the middle of a car park that Damon had any real awareness of what was happening. He flew back to his room, hoping no one had seen him, and dove straight into the fridge, draining the closest blood bag with a bite.

With his demon temporarily satisfied he was finally able to retract his fangs and return his bloodshot eyes to their default bright blue. Damon grabbed the last blood bag from the fridge and considered packing it into the cooler, "Fuck it," he said to no one in particular before draining that bag too. He carefully tidied up the room, packing his empties into his cooler and making a mental note to check for nearby blood banks. He had no idea why but he strongly felt that keeping a low profile and feeding under the radar was extremely important on this trip west.

He made a final check of the room and was gathering up his bag, jacket and keys when he noticed his reflection in the large modern mirror adjacent to the door. "Fuck!" He'd never been a messy feeder, he left that shit to his brother, but he figured it was to be expected after biting into a full blood bag. Damon aggressively pulled the blood-spattered charcoal shirt over his head, wiped it down his chest to remove the blood that had begun to seep through and threw the shirt next to his bag in frustration.

He rummaged through his bag, finally finding a black button up, threw it on and rubbed at his chest where the pain was located. He honestly didn't think the rubbing helped any but it didn't make it worse so he did it anyway. Damon picked up the offending shirt from the bed and was shoving it into an empty compartment in his bag when a lump of metal caught his attention. He pulled it from his bag and held it up, knowing he had never seen this necklace before, but feeling like it was precious anyway. He placed it into his jeans pocket, finished dressing, gathered up his belongings and headed out.

It wasn't until he was flying down the road that an image flashed through his mind, causing him to slam the brakes on or risk crashing his baby. Through the crippling pain he pulled out the necklace to be sure it was the same one. He didn't have to look closely, it was so unique he couldn't mistake it, what he didn't understand he how he could dream about placing this on the mystery girl when he'd never seen it, or her, before in his life. Of more concern was how the hell it found its way into his bag. As the tide of pain became a gentler wave of tightness, Damon reached across the car and threw the possessed necklace into his glove compartment, slamming it shut on the jewelry and the girl it triggered in his mind.

Centering his mind squarely on Katherine, Damon accelerated once more and continued his journey to find the woman he loves more than anything on this earth.

* * *

Elena walked down the stairs feeling very uneasy. The pain had dulled but she had a feeling that things were about to get… complicated. She didn't know what she was about to hear but everything had been building to this moment since she woke up yesterday. She could feel the tension increasing with each step she took and expected to find the three other occupants of the house sitting somewhere waiting for her awkwardly. Instead what she found was a group of people, comfortably eating together and enjoying each other's company. She had been so stuck in her own head she hadn't heard the banter and laughter until she saw the view. Ric was serving toast, eggs and hash browns to the teens seated at the table while Jeremy regaled the others with stories of his time in Denver.

Ric looked up as Elena entered the room and he handed her a fully laden plate with a smile. She returned his smile and sat at the table opposite Jeremy who passed her the jug of orange juice. Elena thought it was weird how normal this all seemed. She never could have picked a year and a half ago that **this** could possibly be a normal family breakfast for her. Elena began eating her breakfast and was pleased when Ric sat beside her and she didn't flinch, it felt like progress. Between mouthfuls of food she watched the people at the table and looked around the room, noting all the similarities and differences from her memories. It startled her when Ric leaned over and quietly asked, "How long you reckon?"

Elena blinked and turned her head to look at Ric, brows creased in confusion, "Umm…"

He tipped his head at her brother and best friend on the other side of the table, deep in conversation, bodies angled towards each other, food on the table forgotten.

"Oh. Right. They do seem quite… engrossed, don't they?" She replied.

" **They** are right here and can hear you, you know?" Jeremy interjected, giving both Ric and Elena a disapproving look. The two being scolded burst into laughter and even Bonnie had a hard time keeping a straight face, while Jeremy's face reddened, "yeah okay, fun's over, time to get down to business. Don't we have a meeting in 20 minutes Ric?" A fresh bout of laughter broke out at the seriousness of Jeremy's tone and this time Bonnie did join in. "Children! I've come home to a bunch of children!" Jeremy complained, throwing his hands in the air, as he stood to begin clearing the table.

"As much as I hate to say it, Mr Adult over there is right. He and I **do** have a meeting in 20 minutes so we need to clear the table. You girls can head to the living room if you like. I know you have **things** to discuss too." Ric's tone was calm but Elena could recognize the tension starting to creep into the group.

* * *

"What do you mean Caroline?" Stefan shouted, "Why are you trying to keep me from my girlfriend too?" His body was rigid with rage, this was exactly what Caroline was afraid of when Klaus made his suggestion. And from seeing this reaction she had to grudgingly admit that Klaus had a point.

"You know me Stefan, I would **never** try to keep you from Elena. You know that I think you two are forever." She spoke calmly, trying to soothe the enraged vampire with her voice.

"Then why would you say this? Why would you want to go without me?" He was pacing as he spoke and Caroline was very aware that he was a century and half older than her, if he wanted to do something then she was no match for him physically. She had to hope to get through to him logically. She sighed inwardly at attempting to use logic on a Salvatore, even Stefan, while he was in this state.

"Stefan, I need you to really hear what I'm trying to tell you. I want you to see Elena, I really do. But is **this** who you want her to see?" Caroline rotated Stefan's body so that he could see his reflection in the hall mirror. She wondered if he saw what she did. He was in full vampire mode; bloodshot eyes, prominent veins, fangs protruding, and his hair was at all angles from where he'd been gripping it tightly while pacing around the room. She doubted he was even aware he had vamped out, so agitated as he was.

She watched as Stefan took several ragged and stuttering deep breaths. After a few moments his fangs and veins had retreated leaving him looking slightly less deranged, but only slightly. Caroline couldn't imagine the repercussions of Elena seeing him like this. "Alright. I see your point. But if I feed first I'll be fine. Besides Klaus already compelled me not to want her blood."

"He did what?!" she snorted derisively, "of course he did. Protecting his **assets** at all costs." Caroline rolled her eyes and looked at Stefan in the mirror. "I think you feeding first is a great idea. But I'd still like to go in alone first. Listen… she knows me. I've been her friend forever Stefan. Even if she has lost a year and a half, she will remember me!" Caroline takes a breath before speaking again. "You told me she doesn't remember you, which means you are trying to start all over again. But the difference this time is that you have me to help. I can match make the two of you, we already know that it will work fantastically. Can you try this my way Stefan?" She takes his hand and turns him from the mirror to look directly at her.

"Alright. Your way." He was much calmer when he spoke this time and Caroline was very pleased with herself for thinking on her feet. Klaus was going to owe her big time when she caught up with him.

"Great! Let's get some breakfast."

* * *

The two girls were sitting cross legged on the couch facing each other. The silence was deafening. Just as Elena was about to say something, say anything at all, Bonnie questioned, "what do you remember about my family?"

This wasn't exactly the question Elena was expecting and it gave her pause, it felt like a test. "Umm… you live with your dad. Your mum left years ago. You spend a lot of time with your Grams." Elena realized her mistake and winced awkwardly, "or you did… before she died I guess. Sorry I know you told me that yesterday, I just forgot for a moment."

Bonnie put her hand on Elena's knee, "it's okay Elena, to me it was a while ago, to you it was yesterday. It's really okay." Bonnie smiled at Elena before continuing, "So, what do you remember about my Grams?"

"Well, I know she was a lecturer at Whitmore… and she did not act anything like a grandmother!" Elena giggled, "Remember how she used to always say you were a witch!"

"Yeah. I remember. The thing is though… she was right." Bonnie sat quietly waiting for a reaction. Unfortunately, Elena was too stunned to provide one. "I really am a witch Elena."

"Umm… what does that even mean?" she managed to ask.

Before Bonnie could reply the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" yelled Jeremy who came flying through the living room with a salt grinder that he dropped onto the coffee table before running for the door, "No feathers this time Bonnie! That shit was everywhere for months last time!" he called back as he opened the door to a middle-aged man in a charcoal suit carrying a brown leather briefcase. "Good morning. Mr Monty is it?" Jeremy asked putting his hand out for the man to shake. Bonnie noticed that Jeremy kept his hand inside the house so that the man would need to step forward in order to shake it. She was impressed and her face showed it.

"Okay, can you please stop ogling my brother and tell me what the hell you are talking about? And why did Jeremy give you a salt grinder?"

"Because he is a smart ass! Like anyone noticed the feathers last time! Everyone knows that the only one who does any cleaning around here is Damon!" She said loud enough for Jeremy to hear, and Ric also heard based on the chuckles coming from the kitchen. She turned back to Elena only to see her doubled over in pain clutching at her chest, doing her best to breathe through the pain. "Crap, Elena! I'm so sorry. I forgot that would happen. I have no idea **why** it is happening but I think it's the first thing we need to work on." Bonnie moved closer to Elena and rubbed her back hoping to provide some comfort while the pain ebbed away.

When Elena could catch her breath again, she pointed to the salt grinder, "So?" Without another word Bonnie moved towards the coffee table and ground out a pile of salt. "Weird, but whatever."

"Just watch…" Bonnie placed her hand over the pile and gently lifted it, drawing up tiny specks which began to float in the air. She rotated her hand and they spun with her, twirling into a salt tornado around the room. Elena looked on in wonder, she couldn't believe that this was even possible, yet here it was and everyone else in the house acted as if it were totally normal.

"Wow… so this is like, really real?" her eyes were still focused on the spinning flakes when the doorbell rang again.

The flakes dropped to the floor as Bonnie released them and called to the kitchen, "I'll get this one." She stood, patting Elena on the shoulder on the way past and opened the door to Caroline. "Hi."

"Hi Bonnie. I'd like to see Elena please." Her voice dripped with venom, but Bonnie knew enough not to be bullied by her friend.

"Caroline of course you can see her. But two things. **He** …" she pointed to Stefan leaning against Caroline's car, "stays out here. And you don't mention the 'V' word. She has no memory of it and we are only just going through the witchy stuff right now."

"No problem." With a fake smile she pushed past Bonnie and into the living room where Elena had begun to stand after hearing Caroline's voice. "Oh My God Elena! Are you okay? Please tell me you are okay! You are okay right?" she hugged Elena to her chest before drawing her back away.

"I'm fine Caroline. Well, except for missing 18 months of memories and for you almost crushing me with your hug but otherwise, yes I'm fine." Elena couldn't help but smile at the antics of her blonde friend. She may be missing a year and a half but Caroline was still exactly the same. Elena followed Caroline as she sat on the couch where Bonnie had just been.

"She's fine, well pretty much fine-ish Caroline," Bonnie said entering the room, "but we haven't figured out what has happened yet. So, don't overwhelm her too much." She smiled.

"I'm fine Bonnie, it would be weird if Caroline **wasn't** like this, **then** I'd worry," Elena laughed.

"In **that** case… I'm going to be very **me** and advocate for a boy; your boyfriend desperately wants to see you," Caroline slowed as she saw Elena withdraw into the cushions of the couch, "Look… he's just outside, he"

"He's outside?!" Elena shrank further into a ball, "please don't let him in, I don't know who is… he gets so angry when I don't know, please don't let him in!"

Bonnie sat between Caroline and Elena and cradled Elena to her chest, "I won't let him in, it's okay. I won't let him in," she repeated to Elena in a soothing tone, looking over her shoulder at Caroline with a look that could only be girlfriend code for 'see, I told you!'.

Caroline was shocked but nodded her head slowly. Elena was clearly terrified of Stefan, she was so glad she took Klaus' advice not to bring Stefan in, although she was quite sure Bonnie would have removed him herself if she needed to. She looked up as she heard Ric yelling and running for the door, "hold on a sec!" she watched curiously as he opened the door then stood aside before calling out to someone in the kitchen, "alright, go for it." Before she had a chance to react she was sucked straight out of the front door and landed roughly on the porch.

Stefan raised an eyebrow and with a look of amusement asked, "what the hell just happened to you?" he looked between Caroline, leaning back on her elbows and the still open front door. He could hear peals of laughter coming from Ric and Jeremy as they walked a man in a suit to the front door. The man clearly had no idea why there was laughter or why there was a blonde teenager laying on her back in the middle of the front porch. He hurried out the driveway and back into his shiny BMW, tearing out of the street at high speed. Stefan came to a realization and at vamp speed threw himself at the doorway. He bounced off with such impact that he landed on the porch, half on top of Caroline who was still dumbfounded and hadn't bothered to move.

"Oomph! Ow! You want to explain what the hell just happened?" she exclaimed, shoving Stefan roughly off of her.

With a growl he said, "they changed the locks." Caroline dropped her head to the porch with a thud. Perfect, she thought, just perfect. From where she lay she could hear Bonnie still trying to soothe Elena with the words, "he can't get in Elena, it's going to all be okay."


	8. Chapter 8

I have a new beta! I'm a little ahead so they have chapter 9 while I write chapter 10 and you read chapter 8. They are new to being a beta and I really appreciate them taking the time to help me out with the story. I also really appreciate all of you who are reading and reviewing the story. You are the reason it is happening at all! Some guest reviewers have asked some questions which I can't reply to because, well, they are guest reviews so I'll just say that some questions are answered in up coming chapters (some were already written before you asked and others are planned for later).

* * *

Jeremy closed the door on the newly evicted vampires and chuckled again, "Well I can't say I've ever seen **that** before!"

"Me neither, but it was definitely fun," Ric replied as he clapped Jeremy on the shoulder, "Let's go see how the girls are doing."

As they entered the room, Bonnie raised an eyebrow at the pair, "Now who are the children?" She pulled away from Elena who had calmed at the closing of the door.

"Oh, it's totally us… but totally worth it," Jeremy answered with a grin splitting his face. "I always wondered what would happen to them if they were inside the house. I mean I know what happened to Elijah but he's an Original… and you can't base **anything** off what happens to them."

The boys settled into the two single seats and Ric asked, "So what did we miss while we had our meeting?"

"Well at least now I don't need to ask what your meeting was about," Bonnie began before being interrupted by another of Jeremy's little chuckles, "I'm glad you can laugh about it… what about when **you** leave the house Jeremy? Please tell me you two thought this through?"

"I have my ring, I'll be fine," Jeremy replied far more seriously, "besides what are they going to do? It's Caroline and Stefan!"

Elena watched the argument and tried to put the pieces together, but it seemed she was still missing huge chunks of the puzzle. Her bewilderment quickly turned to frustration at being left out and she questioned the group, "Is anyone planning on telling **me** why there was a secret meeting? Or what about where Caroline went so quickly? Or even what you guys are arguing about now?" her voice had risen with each question and it silenced everyone else in the room.

"Fair enough, Elena. Occasionally we forget you don't know what we're talking about. But we aren't leaving you out of the conversation on purpose. So, if we go back to the question I asked before maybe that will help. Where did you two get up to?" Ric brought out his teacher voice and the three teens responded through years of conditioning.

"Well, Bonnie had just made salt spin around the room… and that's pretty much it." Elena, still frustrated slouched back into the couch cushions with her arms folded across her chest.

"Alright, so you understand that Bonnie is a witch?" Ric checked.

"Yeah. I think it's one of those things. Sometimes when I am told something that I forgot, it kind of feels right. It **feels** right that Bonnie is a witch." Her arms dropped back to her lap, her frustration at being left out was easing the more they spoke to her.

"Alright. So, you know I'm a witch. That means that I can try some things to ease your pain. But it's up to you. And it's also up to you whether we deal with your pain or your questions first." Bonnie knew where she would start, but Elena was right, they had been talking over her like she was a child and it was time to include her.

"Can you really help the pain?" Jeremy interjected. His eyes were pleading with Bonnie, he'd only been home 24 hours, but he'd seen enough pain to remember why he was sent away.

"I think so," Bonnie said turning to Jeremy, "I would use something similar to the spell I used at the masquerade ball last year, but," Bonnie turned back to Elena, "as I said, it's up to you."

"I'm not sure. It's not too bad right now and I'd really rather know what's going on…" Elena began but stopped short when Ric cleared his throat on the other side of the room. "Yes?" she asked with a smirk that momentarily stopped him in his tracks. He usually saw **that** particular smirk reserved for a certain blue-eyed vampire.

"Can I recommend that Bonnie try the pain relief first? I can pretty much guarantee you that the conversation we are about to have will solidly test anything she tries. At least then we'll know if it works before you go to bed tonight."

Elena reddened at the realization that Ric knew about last night, then quietly said, "Okay Bonnie. Give it a try."

Bonnie smiled at Ric, relieved he was able to get her to agree, who knows how they were going to talk about vampires, werewolves and hybrids without mentioning Damon. Ric nodded and returned the smile before Bonnie faced Elena again. "Tell me what the pain is like. It will help me direct the magic in the right ways."

"It's in my chest. It's like a pulling, burning, twisting pain if that makes sense?" Elena answered, a little unsure of herself. "There's no wound there when it happens… I've checked," she added quietly.

"Sounds a lot like the masquerade ball Bonnie," Jeremy interjected. He'd spent time sitting with Elena that night while Bonnie and Lucy sorted out the vampires. Now that he thought about it the only thing missing was, "Blood."

"What? What do you mean blood?" Elena asked.

"Yeah he is right. At the ball you had bleeding wounds even though there was no injury. This is something deeper. I don't know what's causing it, but we'll see if the same spell can minimize the pain. I couldn't stop the bleeding that night anyway, so the same spell should help. Jeremy candles. Ric water." The guys stood up immediately to do as Bonnie requested, she thought it probably had more to do with relieving Elena's pain than following her instructions, but she smiled at the effect anyway.

"You guys are doing it again." Bonnie looked back at Elena at the sound of her voice. "Speaking over me I mean."

"Elena, we honestly don't mean to. It just that we've all been doing this together so long that we are used to working as a team. Even if you don't remember any of this, just know, you are the one that brought this team together." Bonnie began preparing herself for the spell.

"It's true Elena, you are one half of a really annoying dynamic duo who regularly rope the rest of us into your plans," said Ric and he placed a bowl of water on the table, "well except him," Ric pointed to Jeremy as he placed the candles evenly around the room, "he just kept involving himself. It's actually one of the reasons we sent him away. One danger magnet Gilbert is enough to manage at any one time!"

"Dynamic duo?" Elena asked.

"That's the part you paid attention to?" asked Jeremy. "I thought for sure you'd pick up on the annoying part, I mean I'm annoyed on your behalf," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, I heard it, I just figured it must be the other half of the duo. We all know **I'm** not annoying," she grinned back at her brother who snorted in derision, "But I'm more interested to know who my partner in crime was?" She looked at Jeremy, who looked away to Ric before they both looked at Bonnie.

"Maybe after Bonnie is done okay Elena?" Ric gestured to the girl sitting on the floor, surrounded by flaming candles, muttering something incoherent.

"Actually, I think you might need to answer her. I can't find it yet, it's not a surface level magic, its **deep**." Bonnie placed her outstretched hand over Elena's heart and focused her attention on it, but nothing felt out of place. "I'm sorry Elena. This is going to hurt. Jeremy, brace her please." Once Jeremy was seated behind his sister, his right arm wrapped around her shoulders, Bonnie nodded to Ric.

Ric hesitated to cause more pain to Elena, but he knew it was necessary, "Elena, look at me. Focus on me." Elena was concerned and confused by their words, but she thought she might just know where this was going. "Elena, the other half was always Damon."

Searing pain consumed her chest. She tried to double over but found herself restricted by Jeremy's arm. Through the fog of pain Elena was barely aware of voices arguing. Whatever Bonnie was doing wasn't working. Her heart felt like it was trying to twist free of her rib cage. In an attempt to free herself Elena scratched and bit into her brother's arm trying anything to make him let go. Even the coppery taste of her brother's blood in her mouth couldn't override her need to be free, her agony was all consuming. Then she heard Ric's voice clearly through the fog, "Damon, Elena. He has always been your partner. It was always Damon." And then the fog took over.

* * *

Damon was relieved to finally be near a large enough hospital to have a blood bank worth raiding. He'd already wasted too much time today compelling his way into the inner sanctum of three hospitals only to find their supplies were too low to make it worthwhile and the risk of being caught was too great. This hospital, however, was fully stocked. Maybe they didn't have any vampires around here, or if they did maybe they all ate free range. Either way, Damon filled his cooler, throwing in a few dry ice packs to keep it fresh, and replaced the lid. As Damon secured the cooler into his car a familiar scent caught his attention. He stopped and took a long breath in through his nostrils. It kind of smelled like dog, but not quite. He couldn't exactly place the smell, but it made his fangs itchy and he trusted his instincts enough to know that he didn't want to stick around this place any longer. Maybe that's why the hospital was so fully stocked. Only stupid vampires stayed here, and not for long.

* * *

It had only been an hour. Only an hour since they had left Elena's and arrived at the boarding house. Stefan's agitation had been rapidly escalating since realizing that they were now locked out of the Gilbert house. Only one little hour. It felt like an eternity. Caroline was bored by the 10-minute mark. After 20 minutes she'd texted Klaus and told him to get his manipulative ass over to the boarding house, and he'd better bring a few gallons of pig's blood with him. And now, half an hour after she'd received her reply that he'd be there 'soon', she was still waiting. Stefan was pacing and ranting, he didn't need her response. Besides he'd stopped making sense a loooong time ago. At least he hadn't tried leaving the boarding house since they got there. Caroline wasn't sure what she'd do if he did. She was only able to find one dart of vervain and she wasn't sure it would be enough in his current state. What if crazy overrode vervain?

"Finally!" She stood and vamped to the door only to be met by a frustrated looking Klaus.

"Do you know how bloody hard it was to get this stuff? I had to go to three butchers in Grove Hills! Because apparently **someone** has been buying up all the stock in Mystic Falls. You wouldn't know anything about that now would you Caroline?"

"Ugh… my ears can't take this anymore! One of you is bad enough!" hands clenched at her sides, Caroline looked ready to explode.

"Okay, love. I can see it's been a trying morning so I'm going to let it slide that you just equated **me** with the deranged mess over there. Where would you like the pig's blood I just spent my morning looking for like a pathetic lap dog?" He held up the bottles and followed Caroline as she sashayed into the kitchen, swinging her hips as she walked. When she walked like **that** he'd follow her pretty much anywhere.

"Right," Caroline commanded as she grabbed a pitcher from the cupboard, "Fill that. Half blood, half alcohol. Doesn't matter what alcohol you use, he really only cares about the final ingredient anyway."

"Which is?" Klaus asked curiously as he filled the pitcher with the pig's blood and some vodka he'd pulled from the freezer. Caroline wondered for a minute how he knew it was there before shrugging it off and diving into the fridge.

"Just a minute… here we go," she pulled out a flask from within the vegetable crisper in the fridge. Klaus could see it was hidden under layers of citrus fruit, a couple of lemons had their skin scored releasing a lemony scent throughout the fridge. He thought it was genius. "Pour a glass for him." Klaus did so with his eyebrow raised in question. "You'll see." She cracked open the flask and the ranting from the other room ceased immediately. With an expert flick of her wrist Caroline allowed a single drop of human blood to fall into the glass Klaus had prepared before adding a dash to the pitcher. Klaus held out the glass to the apparition next to him and guided him out of the kitchen allowing Caroline time to bury the flask once more.

* * *

"It's been over an hour Bonnie, why isn't she waking up?" Jeremy paced the living room, impatiently waiting for Elena to wake up. No matter how many times Bonnie assured him that she was just sleeping, he couldn't stop until she woke up.

"I'm not going to force her Jeremy. You have no idea what it was like for her. I was only a bystander in her body and I could barely focus on the spell. Guiding her to sleep was the best thing for her… and you. How's the arm?" Bonnie had applied first aid to the gashes in his arm, but nothing could distract him from Elena.

"Ugh… can you two quieten down… can't you see I'm trying to sleep here?" hearing her voice startled both of them.

"Are you really okay?" Jeremy dropped to the couch and started checking her over for injuries. During the spell he had held her as tight as he could, trying to not hurt her but he couldn't be sure he hadn't caused an injury amidst all the other pain.

"Yeah, I feel alright. And I remember what is going on… witchy spell… loads of pain… etcetera. Best thing though was I had no dream." Elena sat up on the couch where she had been laying, pulled Jeremy's arm over and lifted the bandage so she could see the gashes, "I'm **so** sorry Jer, it just hurt so much."

"Hey, it's alright, I get it. I've had worse bites, believe me." He looked up at Bonnie, sure they were both remembering that it wasn't all that long ago that Katherine had used him as a chew toy.

Elena saw the two exchanging glances and with amusement said, "Oh really?"

Both of their faces reddened, and they immediately denied the suggestion with a simultaneous, "No!"

Ric walked back into the room to see Bonnie and Jeremy standing awkwardly, the embarrassment obvious in their faces, grinned at Elena and asked, "Are we placing bets yet?"

"I guess that depends on what bites Jeremy was talking about… he grabbed at his neck as he said it." She narrowed her eyes at the group, "So either Bonnie gives vicious hickeys…"

"Elena!" Bonnie's mouth dropped open and the color of her face deepened even further.

"Or someone… or **something** else bit my brother." She could see the answer written all over their faces. It was definitely **not** Bonnie who had bitten Jeremy in the past. "So, which one of you is going to have the guts to tell me what none of you are saying?"

Ric took a step forward, "We just need to give you a little test first…"

When no one seemed willing to continue, Elena stood up and said, "Seriously guys!" She looked at each one in turn but they all too clearly remembered the events of an hour ago, and no one wanted a repeat, "Fine! I'll say it then… Damon!" She winced at the tightening in her chest, but it was far more manageable than the alternative. As the others started towards her at the sight of her wincing she held up a hand, "I'm alright. Thanks Bonnie. That's so much better, you have no idea." She sat back on the couch and drew her legs up underneath her, "So, now that **that** is out of the way, who's going to start?"

* * *

Katherine reclined on a sun lounge on her balcony overlooking Central Park. Her posture gave the illusion of someone completely relaxed without a care in the world. Her postured lied. Her mood continued to shift from annoyance to concern and then boredom before the whole cycle started again. She was annoyed because she hadn't heard from Damon. He said he'd call once Klaus had been taken care of and that should have been days ago. She couldn't figure out if this was payback, he certainly had it in him to seek revenge in the most passive aggressive manner. Sure, she deserved it after leaving him hanging for a century and a half, although honestly, she didn't think he cared all that much anymore. He was so completely wrapped up in Elena's orbit he didn't even seem to care enough to seek revenge. Hell, she couldn't even pretend to be Elena without him noticing almost instantly these days. He saw them so distinctly as two separate individuals and Katherine still hadn't been able to pinpoint what Damon could see and no one else could, not even Stefan. The fact that Stefan **didn't** notice interested her. Did it mean that her and Elena melded together slightly in his mind? Was there still any hope to be with Stefan again? That was beside the point though. What mattered was that Damon had agreed to call her. And he hadn't. And if he didn't care enough for revenge then… he hasn't called because he can't. And that's why she felt concerned, which in itself was annoying because Katherine Pierce does **not** do concerned. Even about the Salvatores. **Especially** about the Salvatores. Maybe she'd give him until tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you again to everyone who reads this story. Your interest keeps the motivation up when characters won't cooperate. An extra thanks to those who review, follow or favorite.

* * *

Elena sat stiffly staring at the other occupants of the room, waiting impatiently for one of them to start speaking. In turn they looked at her, at a loss where to start. As her aggravation at not knowing what was going on grew she began to drum her fingers on the arm of the couch. Jeremy recognized the warning sign and years of being the younger brother in the firing line caused him to blurt out, "Vampires, werewolves and hybrids are real."

Ric coughed out a laugh in shock, "Really subtle there Jeremy…"

"At least I said something," he retorted, folding his arms across his chest, "I didn't exactly hear you guys helping."

Throughout the exchange Bonnie watched Elena. Initially her face was a picture of extreme shock, however, Bonnie could actually see the changes as Elena tested how she felt about the information and decided that she knew these things to be true. Bonnie thought it was amazing to watch someone go through the stages from disbelief to acceptance in less than 30 seconds.

"Okay, so I believe you… I don't know **why** I believe you, it sounds completely crazy. But I **do** believe you. The problem is I still don't know what any of it means or how this affects us. And does it have anything to do with what happened to me?" Elena's mind began racing with the possibilities, fueled by years of books and movies.

"Firstly, don't let your mind get ahead of you, reality and fiction are vastly different things. We'll explain things to you as best we can but there are a few key safety tips to go over." Ric's voice was calm and soothing which only made Elena feel like the whole situation was even crazier than she thought. How can they possibly be discussing witches, vampires, werewolves and hybrids… whatever **they** were… like they were a completely normal topic of conversation.

"Safety… right. Hit me." Elena realized her poor choice of words as she felt Jeremy's fist connect with her shoulder. She returned his punch twice to his shoulder and for a moment she felt good. Messing around with her brother was normal, dealing with the supernatural was not. Her moment passed as she looked up to Ric and gestured for him to continue his safety briefing.

"If you two are done?" He raised an eyebrow in reproach at their antics, although inwardly he was overjoyed to see them getting along so well. This must be what they were like before all the shit hit the fan. When they both looked at him in mock obedience he continued, "This house is now locked to all vampires and hybrids…" Ric stopped when he saw Elena's confusion at the term 'hybrid'. "Hybrids are werewolves who have then been turned into vampires, hence hybrid."

"What the…?" Elena was even more confused than before he explained what a hybrid was, "How the hell can someone be… both?"

"I'm sure we'll get to that later Elena, but for now just accept what Ric is saying so we can get to the parts that keep you safe." Bonnie was starting to have a tiny bit of appreciation for Damon's perspective, and more of an understanding about what a monumental task it could be, just to keep Elena safe.

"Okay then." Elena replied, her voice hard. She once again felt like the child being lectured at and her arms crossed themselves without her even being aware of it. She didn't try to hide her annoyance with the group, demanding, "well stop stuffing around and tell me then."

Ric took a breath and ignored Elena's tone. He leaned forward in his chair and began to inform Elena of basic vampire safety.

Jeremy didn't think he needed a refresher course on Vampire 101. As Ric was speaking Jeremy quietly stood and left the room. On his way past Bonnie she raised an eyebrow in question and he gave her a reassuring smile in return. Climbing the stairs, he could hear the lessons on invitations, including a little story about not inviting the pizza guy inside. Seriously, you make one fuck up when you don't know any better and no one lets you forget it. While he kept an ear on their conversation, Jeremy slipped into Elena's bedroom. He immediately grabbed her current diary from the slim shelf behind her mirror, but it was the one she wrote in last year he knew he needed to find. He looked in all the places he'd already discovered as her hiding spots; behind her horse picture, under her mattress, in her drawers, even in her wardrobe. He sat on her bed and scanned the room, trying to figure out a new hiding place she could have found, it's not like he could ask Elena. If she could remember where her diary was then he wouldn't need to find it.

Jeremy jumped back to his feet when his ears picked up the word 'vervain' and he recognized that he didn't have much time left before the others wondered where he was. He swiveled away from the doorway and noticed all his belongings spread on the window seat from last night. He couldn't believe he'd missed looking in such an obvious hiding place! Jeremy quickly threw his possessions onto Elena's bed followed by the seat cushions. Cut into the seat were three lids, each with a small finger sized hole. He levered up the first lid and found a stash of vervain, an old flip phone, a charm bracelet and a range of weapons. Jeremy was not as surprised as he thought he probably should be. He used the finger hole to replace the lid and tried the second lid. This hidey hole was empty except for an intricately carved wooden box. It appeared just large enough to contain her diary, so he lifted it out and looked for the latch. He searched on every side but couldn't find any sign of a latch or hinges. Frustrated, he threw the box onto Elena's bed and tried the third lid. Finally! All of Elena's previous diaries were neatly stacked into the compartment. He lifted up the top one and turned to find Bonnie standing at the door watching him with interest.

He lowered his eyes and tried to think of anything to say that didn't sound ridiculously cliché. In the end he decided to say nothing and lifted his eyes back to Bonnie.

"I'd love to hear **this** one Jeremy." Bonnie smiled. When he didn't answer she moved into the room. "What's that?" She asked pointing the box she'd seen him throw on the bed.

"Honestly no idea. It doesn't even open. It's just a box. No idea why she would have hidden it in there." He pointed to the window seat. "But I did find her diary from last year. This should help at least." He held it up for Bonnie to see.

Bonnie's brows creased in confusion. "Why would Elena's old diary be helpful?"

"How do you think **I** learned about the supernatural?" Jeremy answered with a grin.

* * *

The sounds of pacing and muttering drifted up the stairwell and reached the enhanced hearing of those in the living room.

"Ugh… he's hungry again." Caroline groaned as her head flopped back on the couch. "It's your turn Klaus, get up."

"Remind me again **why** we are weaning him off human blood?" Klaus whined as he poured himself another drink and downed it, "I already compelled him not drink from Elena, and Stefan the Ripper is… entertaining."

"Just because he won't eat Elena, doesn't mean he won't rip her head off when she doesn't recognize him," Caroline dragged herself up and headed slowly towards to kitchen, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that bout of amnesia would you?" Caroline turned back to Klaus with a raised eyebrow only to find herself flying through the air and tumbling back onto the couch.

As Klaus disappeared into the kitchen he called, "My turn, remember. I'm so very pleased that vampires can't have children, aren't you?"

"That's what I thought." Caroline muttered to herself as Klaus prepared to serve Stefan's next meal.

Jeremy sat next to Elena who eyed him warily. "Why do you have my puzzle box?"

"Ummm… I found it when I was looking for this. Do you recognize this?" Jeremy held up the diary cautiously.

"No. I don't remember seeing it before. It looks like a journal. Is it… is it mine?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah. You started it when Mum and Dad died. I wasn't sure if you already had it, but I guess Jenna must have bought it after… anyway last year we were fighting and I… I read your diary and th-"

"You what?" Elena stood up off the couch and snatched her diary from her brother's hands. Jeremy laughed in response. "What is so funny about you invading my privacy?" she demanded.

"It's just funny. This is the exact argument we had when you found out last time. Except this time my answer would make no sense to you at all." He laughed again at the craziness of the whole situation. Last time they'd had this fight he'd claimed that her having Damon compel him was a bigger invasion of privacy. He knew reminding her of this was going to be way more trouble than it was amusing, "Anyway, it gave me a thorough education about the supernatural creatures we have around here, so I thought it could do the same for you."

"Oh. Okay then. Thanks, I guess." Elena slumped back down onto the couch, and Jeremy handed her the other items he had retrieved from her hidden compartments.

"This is your current diary, which, before you start, I have not read. I just thought it made sense for **you** to read it when you finish last year's one." Elena took it from Jeremy far more graciously and tucked it behind the older one next to her on the couch. "This, as you say, is your puzzle box. I tried to open it to find your diary, but I couldn't work it out, so I hope you remember how!"

Elena placed the box in her lap and ran her hands over it, feeling the carvings beneath the tips of her fingers. Her fingers remembered every rise and dip, although she thought that was strange as she had barely looked at it in years. It was a gift from Jenna for her thirteenth birthday. At that age Elena had not seen any real value in it and the beautiful box had sat unused on her dresser for a time before it was relegated to a shelf in the back of her wardrobe. Elena had no clue as to why it was hidden with her diaries, but she supposed that eighteen-year-old Elena had finally found a use for the odd box.

Soon Elena saw that Jeremy was distracted by Bonnie opening her large, musty looking book. Once she was sure he wasn't looking Elena pushed on two very specific parts of her treasure box and it slid apart, splitting into two halves. She carefully placed the top half onto the couch in front of her and began sifting through the contents. She could see piles of paper, photos she assumed from the look of the backs of them, and a single red rose. She gently lifted the dried rose from the box and sniffed it, the action tugging at a loose thread in her mind, but the thread disappeared before she could grab it. Elena wasn't sure she wanted to look at the photographs. If the rose was any indication they probably contained images of someone very important to her that she didn't remember, probably Stefan if Caroline's behavior was anything to go by. Elena just wasn't sure she was ready to see photographs of a couple she had no memory being a part of. And according to Bonnie she wasn't with Stefan anymore so was there really any point looking through this stuff? She glanced up to see Jeremy watching her, her face reddened, and she felt like all her thoughts were visible to be read by anyone.

"Are you okay?" He reached out to touch her hand, however it was the one holding the rose and she flinched, clutching it to her chest to protect the fragile bloom. In that motion she moved her leg and the box tipped, spilling its contents all over the floor. Jeremy sprang up and collected the photos, quickly throwing them back into the box. He smiled as he caught a glance of a few of the photos. He now understood why they were locked in a puzzle box, inside a secret compartment, under a seat topped with layers of cushions. He handed back the box, patted Elena on the shoulder and moved over to help Bonnie, leaving his sister to her memories.

Spilling the box on the floor felt like a sign to Elena that she should put it away and return to it later. Maybe she just wasn't ready to see these memories that were so precious to her that they were secreted away where no one could take them from her. The fact that somehow that exact thing had happened to her was not lost on Elena at all. Her mind made up she dropped her rose into the box and picked up the top half trying to seat it into the groove. In doing so she inadvertently glanced into the box. The glimpse was so brief she thought she was imagining what she saw. She dropped the top half of the box and picked up the photo. She let out an audible gasp in shock, milliseconds before her heart clenched.

"How? What?" She stammered, holding the photo closely to her face as if willing it to change into something that made sense.

"What is it Elena?" Bonnie moved to sit next to her friend. "Can I see the photo?"

"But I don't understand!" Elena didn't even seem to hear Bonnie, lost in her confusion.

"Bonnie," Jeremy whispered, "It's Miss Mystic Falls. I saw it when I put them back in. Well the one on top is anyway."

"Elena, do you remember this?" Bonnie asked. She still received no response from Elena who appeared to be going into shock, "Elena!" Bonnie clapped her hands in front of Elena in an attempt to get her attention.

"It really happened. It did, didn't it?" Elena asked, grasping Bonnie's hand in her left hand and the photo in her right.

"Yes. It happened Elena. Do you remember it?" Bonnie's voice was calm now as she tried to get through to Elena.

"No. Not really. I dreamed it. But then… I forgot my dream… and I still can't remember my dream, but I **know** this was my dream." She ran her thumb over the man in the photo with her, the one she didn't know. Her heart ached for this photo. It had to be him, it just had to be.

"Are you sure Elena? Are you sure you aren't just remembering something?"

"I'm sure Bonnie. Because it hurts! Every time I dream it hurts when I wake up. And now I **know** he was in my dream." She thrust the photo into Bonnie's line of sight and she shouted, "It has to be him! It hurts right now! Please believe me Bonnie!"

"I believe you Elena," Bonnie replied, rubbing Elena's hand that still gripped her own so tightly, "I just wanted to know you were sure. Because you are right Elena. This right here," she pointed to the photo clutched in Elena's hand, "This is you dancing with Damon."

* * *

"I think I'll be leaving now," Klaus stood as he spoke, "Stefan is clearly calm, somewhat in control and completely and utterly boring."

"Thank you, Klaus." Caroline pulled him into a hug. Klaus was completely shocked. It was so unexpected that it took several seconds for him to respond, in which time Caroline had begun to pull away.

"Not so fast sweetheart." Klaus latched on to Caroline's wrists and had her pulled close up against his body before she'd even had a chance to step back. He dipped his head so that his lips were so near to her neck she could feel each individual breath. Caroline trembled. She couldn't be sure whether it was fear or anticipation. He was so unpredictable to her she didn't know whether to expect a kiss or a bite. And at that moment she couldn't fathom which would be worse. He whispered, "Goodbye, Caroline," before brushing his lips across her skin. And then he was gone.

"Did I interrupt something?" Stefan's question startled Caroline and she spun to face him, clearly still shocked, with the fingers from her hand touching the place where moments earlier Klaus' lips had been.

"What? No. Of course not. What? How are you feeling Stefan?" Caroline's agitation and bewilderment had made her appear decidedly not Caroline and it was taking her some time to put the mask back into place.

Stefan considered pushing Caroline, but when he thought about everything he had put her through, not to mention everything with her dad, he figured he'd give her a pass for now. "Much better. Thank you. I'm not sure what would have happened if you'd not been here to help me." He gazed over at the blonde vampire, gratitude written on his face.

"Of course, Stefan. That's what friends are for. And I know usually Elena would have helped you through this little rough patch but since she couldn't…" She beamed at him, all confusion triggered by Klaus safely locked away for now.

"And I guess I owe Klaus thanks too. I'm not sure how you managed to convince him to help me. I'm fairly sure he enjoys me much more wild and unrestrained."

"Oh, he does, believe me!" Caroline rolled her eyes at Klaus' antics throughout the day. "In fact, he spent most of the day trying to persuade me not to do it or complaining about losing his 'brother'." Caroline made air quotes, clearly underestimating the bond between the two rogue orphans. "But he wants Elena alive more than anything, so I made sure that he saw logic. Seriously, he can be so damn obnoxious when he isn't getting his way!"

Caroline then vamped into the kitchen and Stefan smirked at the disappearing form of a clearly frustrated and flustered control freak. Her absence gave him time to decide how to proceed with his next idea. He needed to see Elena now more than ever. If she had no memories of him except those since she'd been compelled, then he could only imagine how much she hated him right now. And he needed her to get over that, so she could get back to being in love with him, like she was before his brother interfered. With any luck she was still clueless about the supernatural, when he was over there he hadn't heard anything to suggest she knew what he was yet. If he could just do a little tweaking compulsion to take away her fear, then he could put this plan back into action. And if those annoying, meddling morons over at the Gilbert house had clued her in before he could, well then, he'd just have to apologize, explain himself (and his unfortunate out of control behavior), and grovel until he won her back. And for that he'd need Caroline. Thankfully she entered the room with the two things he most wanted to see; a tall glass of blood and an attitude full of determination to get a mission happening.

* * *

"Thanks for the pizza Ric, I'm totally stuffed now!" Bonnie exclaimed as she got to her feet. "I'm going back to the living room to search through more grimoires if anyone is interested in combing through centuries of weird, barely legible writing with me?"

"I'll come." Jeremy stood and raised his finger to Ric, "Thanks for the pizza, dick." He smiled as he followed Bonnie to the living room.

"Maybe telling the pizza guy story again over the meal was a bit much, you think?" Ric smirked at Elena and received a chuckle in response.

"I guess we all had to learn to be a little less trusting…" She sighed.

"And in Jeremy's case, a little less lazy," he laughed.

"He is so grown up. I feel a little like **I'm** the younger sibling here." Elena sighed and looked awkwardly down at her empty plate.

"It's a consequence of living this life. Survival depends on making mature decisions. And as much as we all hate him being involved, he is actually really good at it." Ric rolled his eyes before continuing, "And of course Damon was the one who saw that in Jeremy, **loooong** before the rest of us. I'm sure they'd both deny it if they were asked but they're like brothers those two."

"Obviously I don't remember anything about Jeremy's relationship with Damon, but from what I've seen since he came home, he looks up to you so much. I don't know why you've stayed to take care of us, but I'm glad you did." Elena smiled up at Ric who shook his head at her.

"Honestly Elena, I think you lot have taken care of me more than the reverse. As for why I stayed, you are the closest I've ever come to having a family and I selfishly wanted to keep feeling that way."

"I'm glad you did." Elena realized that the conversation was getting a little too deep for her amnesia riddled mind to deal with and tried to find a lighter topic, pointing to Ric's hand, "What is the deal with the rings? You and Jeremy both have them and I remember he mentioned his in his argument with Bonnie earlier."

"Interestingly enough, they are Gilbert family heirlooms." Ric smiled softly at Elena.

Elena's face scrunched up in confusion. She couldn't remember ever seeing her father wearing one and surely, she'd have noticed. "Umm… so why do **you** have one?" She was hesitant to ask and didn't want Ric to think she was ungrateful, but makeshift family or not, he wasn't a Gilbert.

"That story is long and complicated, I'm sure you can read all about it in your journal. Let's just say that I'm wearing yours, at your insistence, because it doesn't work for you." Ric didn't know how much he should say. It had already been a **very** long day filled with painful memories and supernatural revelations.

He should have known that Elena would not let it go that easily. "What do you mean by 'work' Ric? How can a ring 'work'?"

He sighed and pulled the ring from his finger, handing it over to Elena, "It was spelled by Bonnie's ancestor Emily. It protects the human wearing it from death by a supernatural entity."

Elena turned the ring around in her hand. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, however the ring just looked like an ordinary ring. A large chunky ring, sure, but not one spelled against death. She passed it back to Ric who slipped it back over his finger, "How?"

"I have no idea. When I die I don't actually remember anything when I wake up."

"You mean it has actually happened!" Elena was shocked. All of this was fine in theory but to be sitting in front of someone who claims to have come back from the dead, it seemed so fantastical.

"More than once. I'm guessing you'll read about most of the incidents," he pointed to her diaries sitting next to her on the table, "although I'm not sure the most recent one will be in your journals. So, when you finish reading I can fill you in if you like." Ric stood and began clearing the table.

"You said it won't work on me. I'm human Ric. Why can't I wear my ring?" Elena's voice had become very soft. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to know the answer. How could she not be human? Surely, she would know if she wasn't human right?

"Yes. You **are** human. However, you're also a supernatural occurrence." Ric's voice had dropped back into his calm, teaching tone, "You are what's known as a doppelganger."

"So, I look like someone else and now I can't wear a magic ring that could bring me back from the dead?" She had an incredulous expression on her face which matched the tone of her voice. "This whole supernatural thing has so many ridiculous rules!"

"Yeah well you can blame the witches for that." Ric laughed as he left the kitchen, leaving Elena to her thoughts and her diaries.


	10. Chapter 10

I know it has been a long time but I seriously lost motivation after some negative guest reviews. I'm totally okay with negative reviews if I can learn from them. This is my first attempt at writing fiction since high school 20 years ago and I'd love to improve. A negative review that I can respond to and gather more information from the person who left it helps me to grow as a writer. Most guest reviewers are wonderful people and have their own reasons for leaving reviews without a name, I still very much appreciate you as I do those who leave a name. You awesome people are in the majority and you are the reason I was able to get back into writing this. I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

* * *

When Damon saw the bright lights in the distance he was ecstatic. His intense boredom, fueled by state after state of the blandest scenery ever created, was coming to an end. He was, annoyingly, still in the desert and had many miles left to travel tomorrow, but tonight, tonight he could revel in the debauchery of Vegas.

He pulled his car into the driveway of Palms Casino and collected his bags in one hand before he strode over to the nervous looking kid standing nearby waiting to take his car. Damon stepped in close and pulled the trembling green eyes into his compulsion, "This vehicle is your priority. You will personally take care of it all night. It will be clean and have a full tank when I'm ready to leave at 9 in the morning." Without waiting for a response, Damon sauntered past the compelled valet and placed his palm on a non-descript brick in the wall of the casino. He stepped into the dense black that appeared as part of the wall slid to the side. As soon as his foot landed on the floor of the passage, the wall slid neatly back into place. If a human had found themselves in this space, they would have been surrounded by an oppressive darkness and absolute silence. Damon, however, was not human. It was still difficult for his enhanced senses to operate, although he could see the glow in the distance that indicated his personal lift and he could vaguely hear the chaos of casino operations occurring around him. He vamped to the end of the corridor and placed his hand on the cool stainless steel of his lift doors. They opened almost silently to reveal a luxurious elevator. It was modern styled, full of glass, stainless steel and black accents. Damon reclined on the large black leather couch as the doors slid closed and the lift began to ascend.

Several minutes later the lift stopped moving and the doors slid open. Damon stepped out into the bottom floor of his 2-storey Sky Villa at the very top of the casino. He walked straight to the refrigerator and emptied the contents of his cooler into it. Then, still carrying his bag he made his way into his downstairs bathroom to get ready for a huge, vampire style, night on the town.

* * *

Now that Elena was safe, and her pain had been dulled, Ric, Bonnie and Jeremy felt that they could now focus on the problem at hand. Elena had settled into her favorite armchair in the living room and was reacquainting herself with her diaries, and the knowledge they contained about the supernatural. At her request, the current team meeting was also taking place in the living room. This way she could ask questions about what she read and also contribute to the discussions.

"I wasn't here when all this shit took place. I was hanging out in my room in Denver when I got a phone call I thought was from Ric. Of course, now I know it was Damon removing my compulsion and telling me to come home. Still pissed at you guys about that by the way." Jeremy glared at his sister who conveniently seemed **very** engrossed in the current passage she was reading.

"And I only know what happened after Elena woke up." Bonnie sighed.

"No, that's not right. Weren't you **with** Elena before all this happened? The last I saw of her was when she was heading to see Caroline. She said she would contact you too…" Ric was having a hard time working out when the relevant timeline began.

"Yeah, that's right. She called me and met me at Caroline's. We spent ages there just sitting with Caroline and trying to be there for her. But then she got a call and had to go… I think maybe Stefan called her!" Bonnie realised.

"So, you're telling me Stefan called her, she left, and now she has no memories? Compulsion, right?" Jeremy said, his tone making the others aware of how obvious the answer was. He looked at the other two like they were crazy for considering anything else.

"That was my thought too, but why? He's never compelled her before." Bonnie replied. She was torn. As a witch her instincts were to never trust vampires, they were unpredictable and reactive, however Grams had trusted Stefan enough to invite him inside her house.

"That we know of. Besides, **this** Stefan is not the one we know. He's barely past his recent 'ripper' binge and add to that the humanity switch he had off. I'm not even sure its fully engaged at this point. I'm not willing to rule out that **this** Stefan would compel her." Ric was almost certain that the Stefan they had experienced lately would definitely do something like compel Elena, he just didn't think she was ready to hear something like that.

"Is there a way to find out?" Elena surprised everyone with her question, looking over the top of her diary intently at the group. "I mean, we could spend all evening guessing if you want to…"

"It's not that simple. Jeremy and I spent hours trying to find out if it's even possible. We couldn't find anything about testing for compulsion, but we did find a spell to see your memories." Bonnie was hesitant to bring it up. It was invasive, and she couldn't be certain that it was safe. "And let's just say Stefan compelled you… it doesn't help us. We can't undo the compulsion! And I just don't see **why** he would do it… how could erasing your memories, including those you have of **him** , benefit Stefan?"

Ric interrupted Bonnie's rant, "I'm very sure Damon was compelled though."

That got everyone's attention. "Why?" Elena asked.

"Why was he compelled? Or why am I sure?" Ric grinned. "We know there's only one vampire in town who could possibly compel him, so my guess is he pissed Klaus off somehow."

"Probably opened his mouth," Jeremy laughed.

"Quite possibly. But I am certain because it's the only thing that could explain his behavior. His only two words to me were phone and hieroglyphs. And he only said two words to Jeremy too." Ric glanced at the teen in question.

"Yeah, he said apples and home." Jeremy laughed again, "Weirdest phone call I've ever had, and around here that's a massive achievement!"

"Exactly. And then there was the deal with the map."

"The map?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, it was like he was trying to write on the map, but his brain wouldn't cooperate. All he managed to do was some squiggles on the west coast and around Atlanta." Ric looked confused, he couldn't figure out the relevance of either location. "I'm not sure what his compulsion was about but I trust the locations, even if they don't make sense, he was fighting the compulsion so strongly to show me, I could see how much pain it was causing him."

"So, Klaus compelled Damon, and maybe Stefan compelled Elena. But why?" Bonnie bit out in frustration, "It doesn't make sense!"

"Then I think we are back to looking in my head again." Elena demanded. And then the arguing began anew.

* * *

"If you want my help with this Stefan then I need to know what is actually going on here." Caroline wanted nothing more than to reunite two of her best friends. She truly believed they were destined for each other and more than that, they **needed** each other right now with everything going on.

"I've already told you what happened Caroline. Elena finally stood up to Damon, just like we've both wanted for so long. She told him that she wanted him out of her life. She said he needed to leave town because he refused to take no for an answer and she couldn't trust him to stay here. Then he got angry and he pushed her. She hit her head before I could get to her." Stefan sobbed out the last sentence and put his head in his hands, hoping that Caroline would believe him this time. He wondered why she was asking him again. Everyone knew how unpredictable Damon was, he would fly off the handle whenever he didn't get his own way. When there was no response from Caroline he was tempted to look up because he couldn't read her expression and there had been no change in her heart rate. He thought she'd at least be a little angry on Elena's behalf. He tried one last push, "It's all my fault! I couldn't get to her in time! I healed her, but she's still broken." This time Caroline did put a comforting hand on Stefan's arm and he smiled just a little at how easy she was to manipulate.

His smile quickly disappeared at her next statement, "Stefan, Damon wouldn't do that. Go on a killing spree? Absolutely! Drink the Grill out of alcohol? Sure! Kidnap Elena until she agreed to have a make out party in his back seat? Probably! You know I hate him, but even I know he would never hurt her." The hand on Stefan's arm squeezed gently and then pulled the arm away from his face. His anger at her response had allowed a few tears to leak out, diminishing some of Caroline's suspicions that Stefan knew what had really happened. "Stefan, look at me. I also know that **you** would never hurt Elena. So please trust me and tell me what happened."

"It was Klaus." He whispered.

"I knew it!" Caroline stood and began trip trapping back and forth on the wooden floor, "I knew he was distracting me from my questions earlier! That hybrid weasel! What did he do to her Stefan?"

"He didn't do anything to her! He was annoyed with Damon for undaggering Elijah. So, he… he compelled Damon to forget Elena and leave town. Elena tried to stop him leaving and he pushed her. Maybe he thought she was Katherine or maybe he didn't recognize her at all with the compulsion but…" Stefan sighed, "That's what happened. I'm sorry for keeping that part from you Caroline but I… I thought you might think less of me for not being able to stop Klaus compelling Damon, and I can only imagine what you think of me for not being able to stop Elena from being hurt." He dropped his head, seemingly in defeat.

Caroline dropped back into the seat next to Stefan and turned to him, "Stefan! Klaus is like a thousand years older than you and annoyingly there is no known way on this planet to kill him so why would you ever think I'd think less of you for not stopping him?"

"So, you'll help me then?" He lifted his eyes to Caroline, "I only want to see her, to apologize for my behavior, to explain myself to her."

"Of course, I'll help you. It's what I do best!"

* * *

Katherine finally knew where Damon was. It didn't explain why he hadn't called or why the hell he was in Vegas of all places. She'd never expected him to be on the other side of the country, but her spells don't lie. She'd been out on the streets casually meandering from phone box to phone box calling her contacts when one of the bright blue gems on her bracelet had begun to glow. She'd hung up the phone and stared at it, not quite ready to believe he'd fled Mystic Falls. Decades ago when Damon had become the silent owner of the casino, Katherine had applied a little pressure to his witch. When the witch had spelled Damon's entry doors to only work for him, they'd also added a spell to let Katherine know whenever the doors had been activated. She'd set that spell up for both boys in any place they'd ever owned. And now his Vegas stone was glowing.

Her contacts had confirmed the Original family presence in New Orleans, minus Klaus. She had to assume that he was still in Mystic Falls harassing the locals, without fear now that Mikael was dead. Although if that were the case Damon would never have left… not without Elena. Unless of course Elena sent him packing. Katherine smirked at the idea. She considered each option available to her; stay where she was – boring, head to Mystic Falls to check on Stefan and run the risk of Klaus getting his teeth into her again – stupid, or catch up with Damon and ask **him** about Stefan while enjoying his misery about Elena. Katherine started packing.

* * *

Damon was dressed to hunt. His black leather pants were so tight they appeared sprayed on, while his black silk shirt was unbuttoned half way. As he walked through the foyer heads turned and he could have easily selected his prey from anyone here, however, tonight he wanted to hunt on the strip.

He departed the building, immune to the crestfallen faces behind him, and sauntered down the sidewalk. Damon didn't know what he was looking for, but he was certain he would know it when he found it, he could feel a drive within him propelling him towards something specific.

* * *

"I just don't think it's safe! Who knows what the consequences could be? You of all people should understand about unintended consequences Jeremy!" Bonnie's voice rose as she and Jeremy argued. All of the pain from his affair with Anna resurfaced. Bonnie felt more than just betrayal, there was guilt because she was the cause of his ability to talk to ghosts on the Other Side.

"I get that okay, but if you hadn't done that spell, I'd be dead!" Jeremy paused his yelling and glanced at his sister's startled face. He tried to speak again more calmly, "Bonnie, the consequences have never been as bad as whatever we were working against. If I had a choice between being dead and being a ghost whisperer, you know I'd make this choice every time." Jeremy looked downcast and added in a whisper, "I'd just change the part where I hurt you."

Elena directed her attention back to the book in her hands to give the other two a little privacy. She was shocked by the knowledge that Jeremy could have died and that he could talk to ghosts… she wasn't certain how to respond to either piece of information. She considered skipping through her journal to find out about these changes in Jeremy, although he was here now and clearly **not** dead, so it wasn't exactly a matter of urgency.

Elena hadn't gotten as far through her journal as she might have liked. The 'discussions' in the room were a constant distraction, as were her own thoughts about what she had read. She turned to Ric, who was busily sorting through her photos and putting them into chronological order for her and asked, "Why do you think Stefan didn't tell me what he was?"

"Would you have believed him?" Ric posed the obvious question.

"Not at first, but if he loved me like it says in here, then why didn't he trust me enough to at least drop some hints, test the water, ease into it? From what I've read so far… I don't think he was ever going to tell me." Elena finished quietly.

"Maybe not. But that's a question for Stefan really. Vampires are… emotionally skewed… their emotions overwhelm them more than humans. I don't really understand it, having never been a vampire, but Damon has explained it and I've seen the aftermath often enough."

"Aftermath?" Elena asked.

"You'll read about it plenty in there," Ric pointed to her diary, "but basically from what I've been able to work out is that their entire bodies stop maturing when they are turned, including their brains. So, you've got adolescent brains amped up with magnified emotions inside near unbreakable bodies." Ric placed a pile of unsortable selfies back into Elena's puzzle box and began to write events and locations on the backs of the identifiable photos.

Elena looked at Ric with a raised eyebrow and pointed questioningly at the photos in the puzzle box. "Um?"

"I can't figure out a timeline from two idiots pulling stupid faces. That's everyday around this place." Ric continued to write, and Elena picked up the pile. As she flicked through she could see what Ric meant. These were obviously selfies taken on a phone and printed out. Occasionally she could see friends in the background, sometimes even a glaring Stefan, but usually the two idiots filled most of the shot. She smiled even through the dull pain in her chest, the happiness on both faces was there for anyone to clearly see. "Elena?"

She glanced up from her photos to see Ric looking at her pensively, "They are impulsive and deadly. Even the most in control vampires, like Damon, snap when they get hurt. And when they snap, humans die. Living this life, we've learned to accept it somehow. Honestly I don't know how." Ric returned to his writing and whispered, "We hate what they do, but we love them. Keep that in mind when you read Elena." Elena only heard the last part because she was listening so intently to his words and now she was apprehensive of what exactly she was going to read in her diary.

* * *

Damon guided his harem through the doors of his personal lift in the casino foyer. Once the doors closed, the party began. Immediately, two of the petite brunettes pushed him back onto the couch and climbed up on him. A third crawled along the back of the couch and ran her fingers through his hair, brushing her lips across the back of his neck. The others merely watched, seemingly waiting for their turn to attack the gorgeous man in front of them.

Damon allowed the girls to do as they pleased on the way up to his villa. He tried to enjoy himself, but something wasn't right. Every girl he selected had satisfied the drive in his body for the hunt, however none were meeting his other needs. It was a boost to his ample ego to know that no girl here was compelled, they all came with him willingly. As the lift continued to rise Damon realized that he found their attentions more annoying than arousing and he stood, letting the two girls fighting over his lap fall to the floor.

"What the fuck?" exclaimed the first girl as she picked herself up.

"You're a fucking dick!" shouted the second.

Damon ignored them and waited impatiently by the doors until they opened, revealing his villa. The two pissed off girls soon forgot their anger when they stepped out towards the cantilevered pool. Damon forced a smile at the girls, "The bar is there, help yourselves. I see you've already found the pool. Of course, there's only one rule in my pool… skinny dipping is mandatory." He raised his eyebrows and smirked at the giggles following his statement.

Damon ambled up the stairs to collect a bottle of bourbon for himself. He'd never keep the good stuff in the bar where any idiot could drink it. He took a large swig from the bottle and savored the burn as it made its way down his throat. He took another swig and walked back the way he had come. By the time he was once again poolside, all the girls had taken up his suggestion and were nakedly ducking and diving, splashing and giggling, a couple were even making out by the very edge of the pool that extended beyond the building and had a view overlooking Vegas.

Damon pressed some buttons on a panel in the wall and the overhead lights dimmed, the pool lit up from under the water and music pumped out from hidden speakers. He reclined in a chair beside the pool drinking his bourbon and watched as the girls enjoyed themselves. He ignored their calls for him to join them until eventually one girl ventured out of the pool. She strutted over to him, water dripping down her naked body, the cool air pebbling her nipples. She stopped in front of his chair and put a hand out for him to take, "Come join us." She pleaded.

"I'd rather just watch." He looked past her at the other girls still in the pool, most of whom were watching the exchange.

"Well, maybe I'll just join you instead then." She said playfully as she climbed onto his lap with her knees either side of his thighs. She undid the remaining buttons on his shirt and ran her fingers across his abs, gasping at their firmness. As distracted as she was, she never saw his features change. The sharp sting in her neck was unexpected and she let out a loud shriek at the invasion. The expressions on the other girl's faces turned from fear at the scream to jealousy as they watched their counterpart gyrating vigorously on Damon's lap.

Damon was frustrated at the way his evening was going. He intended to come here to feed and fuck his way through the night. However, his body was betraying him. Watching the beautiful girls frolicking naked in his pool had done nothing for him. It was only now, with his fangs buried deep into the girl's neck that he felt any arousal, and he knew it was blood lust that would fade when he finished feeding. His increasing level of frustration was driving him to drink deeper and deeper, enjoying every last drop that this girl had to offer. As he heard her heart begin to slow he tried to take one last long pull of blood but found that he couldn't. In fact, his body betrayed him once more by retracting his fangs out of the girl's neck.

He was furious. He threw the girl aside and stood, calling one of the other girls out of the pool. She walked to him, trembling from the cold and stood in front of him. She crossed her arms over her breasts, attempting to belatedly cover herself up, although only managing to push her breasts higher. Damon pulled the girl into his compulsion, noticing the familiarity of her brown eyes. "Don't move." She instantly froze. He pushed his vampire features back to the surface and dove into this girl's clavicle. She didn't move as he sucked on blood from her body, he made sure his fangs were pushed in as far as they could go. Still, at the point where her heart began to slow, his fangs retracted, and his features returned to his human façade. "Fuck!"

He picked up his almost empty bourbon bottle and hurled it at the balcony pillar where it shattered, showering the pool and the girls in glass. In his rage he considered leaving them as they were, however, his brain tightened at the thought of leaving a blood trail, and he knew it was something he just could not do. Instead he stormed to each and every girl, compelling them to leave, remembering nothing beyond skinny dipping in the pool. A frustrated and furious Damon then retired to his sleeping quarters with a fresh bottle of bourbon to sulk.

* * *

Stefan sat in the tree outside Elena's window waiting for everyone to fall asleep. He knew he could no longer get in, but he thought he might have a shot at getting Elena to come to him. He could hear the quiet murmurs coming from Jeremy's room where he and Bonnie were talking. He could hear the occasional clinking of a glass from the other end of the house which he assumed was Ric drinking himself to sleep again. Right now, though, he could see Elena. She was sitting up in bed with her diary and it looked like she was reading it. Maybe he wouldn't need so much help after all. If she read about how much she loved him and how evil Damon was then he would have her back in no time. Even so, he thought that his recent behavior had probably hindered his progress slightly and a little compulsion couldn't hurt.

While he waited for Elena to stop reading and fall asleep, he daydreamed about their future. It was the reason he was so willing to do things he would otherwise avoid. He imagined them raising a bunch of children, although he couldn't stand the idea of them belonging to someone else. Maybe a witch could help him give Elena the children that he couldn't right now. Then she could be happy and still stay with him. And when they had enough children he would turn her, and they would live together forever. Maybe some of their children would choose to turn as adults and as long as they reproduced first Klaus would have no reason to mind. He could imagine hundreds of years of happiness and family. If only she could remember him! He still didn't understand why the compulsion had taken more time than it should have, compulsion is very specific. Stefan remembered very clearly the day Elena met Damon. It was at the boarding house and he came home from hunting after school to find the pair talking in the living room. He'd been furious with Damon that day, but he'd known that there was nothing he could do about it, his brother was always stronger. Well now he finally had his revenge on Damon. Except somewhere something had gone wrong.

Elena's light finally turned out and he listened to her body, waiting for it to tell him that she was dreaming. He didn't have to wait long. The exhausting day had taken its toll on Elena and soon she was dreaming. She couldn't hear anything again, which made her sure it was another memory. She was in her room and the man she always saw was lying on her bed clutching her bear to his chest. She knew his name now but in here she couldn't quite find it. As she looked at him he pointed with the arm of the bear to a mess near the door. She knew that Stefan had created the mess, she didn't remember it happening but somewhere inside she knew he had done it. She looked back to Damon. Finally! Yes! That was his name, Damon! When she looked at him, he looked concerned. Then the whole mood of the dream shifted as she followed Damon around her room, putting things back after he picked them up. She could remember conflicting emotions, joyful annoyance at his antics, worry for Stefan and guilt for enjoying her time with the blue-eyed vampire in her bedroom. As if her guilt had called to him, she saw Stefan in the tree outside her window. He called her name, and she heard him. Elena was confused, she couldn't hear in her memories so, what was this? He called to her again and she moved towards the window, Damon forgotten for the moment as her dream evolved. She opened the window to better hear Stefan.

"Elena come here. I can't come in remember."

"How can I hear you?" Elena was surprised by her own voice. Her dreams were so silent that any noise was invasive.

"I don't know. I'm not sure how this works. But you know who I am, so you must remember me right?" Stefan's expression pleaded with her to remember.

"Not really." Elena furrowed her brows, "I know who you are. But I don't remember you."

Stefan frowned and looked over her shoulder at the confused look on his brother's face, "Well in that case I need you to do something for me okay?"

"What do you need Stefan?" Elena was wary of the vampire, but knew from the start of her memory that in this time he needed help, "How can I help you?"

"I need you to wake up and come to the window, okay?"

"How will that help?"

"Please believe me Elena. It's **very** important that you do this. Wake up and open the window."

As Elena roused from sleep she walked to the window and opened it, not even aware of her actions. In the back of her mind, the part that was still tied to the dream by a thread, she could swear she heard a deep voice yelling for her to stay in bed. As she turned to follow that voice she found herself trapped in the green eyes of the vampire at her window.

"You are not afraid of me. When you see me, you will not be scared of me. You won't remember that I was here. When you fall asleep again you won't have any more dreams tonight."

Elena became aware that she was standing at her window with it wide open. The chilly night air was causing the hair on her body to stand up. She sighed at her sleepwalking and closed the window, latching it before climbing back into bed.


End file.
